Africa-Press – Tanzania. Dar es Salaam.
Chadema said yesterday that the Police Force had ill-intentions against it, attributing its claim to a series of recent “unfair incidents” against the main opposition party.
However, police spokesperson, David Misime, was quick to refute the claim, saying it was a “fallacy and not holding water at all.”
Chadema deputy secretary general for Mainland, Mr Benson Kigaila said during a press conference yesterday that the manner in which the party’s chairman, Mr Freeman Mbowe was arrested and taken to court was a proof of the law enforcers’ ill-intention.
READ: Chadema’s Mbowe and co face new charges
Mr Mbowe, who was arrested last month, just hours before he was due to launch a public forum on constitutional reforms, is facing charges related to economic crimes and financing terrorist activities between May and August 2020.
Citing the timing of his arrest, Mr Kigaila denounced the charges as a politically motivated move to silence dissent.
“The timing of his arrest raises questions around whether this was a tactic to silence critical voices,” Mr Kigaila noted.
He queried: “If he committed the crimes last year, where were they all that time and why did they have to wait until the night before the day he was to announce demands for constitutional reforms?”
The reason for his arrest, he added, seems not to be reasonable.
“Something is wrong, somewhere,” insisted Mr Kigaila.
Furthermore, he said, the arraignment of Mr Mbowe without representation of his lawyers raised questions on whether justice could prevail under such a circumstance.
READ: Mbowe case stalls after tech failures at Kisutu court, supporters arrested
“Our chairman’s basic legal rights have been violated,” said Mr Kigaila, wondering whether justice would prevail.
Further noted that groundless cases and barring the party’s leaders and followers from entering the court during Mr Mbowe’s case hearing was another proof for malicious intentions against Chadema.
He wanted to know why three out of Mbowe’s six co-accused were set free, leaving the party’s chairman and others behind bars.
“If the three who have been released were found innocent, then there is a possibility that even our chairman and his fellows’ case is groundless,” he raised concern.
Referring to the incident of Chadema’s members being prevented from entering the court, Mr Kigaila expressed his worries, saying something bad was being plotted for the party.
Members of the opposition party who had gathered outside the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court a few days ago after being barred from entering the court, are being held by the Police.
The supporters had arrived to follow up on the case facing their party’s chairman who was not brought to court following technological failures between the court and the prison.
They were seen holding posters with various messages as they chanted party slogans.
Chadema said 41 of its members had been arrested between August 3 and 6, 2021.
Reacting to barring Chadema members from entering the court, the Police Force spokesperson said it was their responsibility to act accordingly whenever they smelled peace-breaking indicators.
However, he did not want to go into detail on the peace-breaking indicators they established.
On the timing of Mr Mbowe’s arrest, Mr Misime said there was no law that directed on the time to make arrests.
“As long as the investigation is complete, we have the power to arrest the accused wherever they are….,” he said.
As for taking Mr Mbowe to court without the knowledge of his lawyers or relatives, the police spokesperson said, there was no law that required the police to make an announcement before taking the accused to court.
