Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Arusha Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday found former Hai District Commissioner in Kilimanjaro Region, Lengai Ole Sabaya (34) and two other co-accused persons with a case to answer in the armed robbery trial they are facing.
Senior Resident Magistrate Odira Amworo ruled that the evidence produced by 11 prosecution witnesses, led by Principal State Attorney Tumaini Kweka, established a prima facie case requiring the accused persons to give their defence testimony against the charges.
Following the court’s decision, the accused persons, Sabaya, Silvester Nyengu (26) and Daniel Mbura (38) are required to start giving defence evidence today.
Advocates Dancan Oola and Mosses Mahuna, for Sabaya, informed the court that their client will give evidence under oath and would call two more witnesses.
Advocates Edmund Ngelema and Sylvester Kahunduka for Nyengu said that their client would also give evidence under oath and would call one more independent witness.
On his part, Counsel Fridolini Gwemolo representing Mbura, indicated that the accused would give defence evidence under oath and would call one witness to support his case.
In June, this year, Mr Sabaya appeared before the Arusha Resident Magistrate’s Court charged with six counts. The charges include leading a criminal gang, armed robbery, money laundering and corruption.
The court further heard that the former DC had on January 20th, this year solicited 90m/- worth of bribes from an Arusha-based businessman Francis Evarist Mroso, to shield him from tax evasion trial.
Sabaya and his co-accused persons are charged with armed robbery, an offence which is alleged to have been committed on February 9, 2021 at 17.00 hours at Shahiid Store owned by businessman Mohamed Al Saad in Bondeni area within Arusha City.
According to the prosecution, the accused persons are alleged to have robbed 3,159,000/- from the shop and before and after such robbery they threatened the victims therein with firearms, beat them and made away with some properties and money.
It is alleged that Sabaya, Nyengu and Mbura jointly robbed Bakari Msangi (38) a sum of 390,000/- and two mobile phones.
The prosecution alleges further that the accused persons robbed from the counter of the shop in question 2,769,000/-, while in another count the trio are alleged to have robbed one mobile phone, Tecno of make and 35,000/- from Ramadhani Rashid, alias Anusu.
During the trial, the prosecution called 11 witnesses including ordinary citizens, police and a doctor and in the testimony of one of them, Shahidi Msangi, who is the complainant in the case, spent five days testifying in court, giving a detailed count involving Sabaya.
Msangi, who is the sixth witness, said that Sabaya raided the shop with two pistols and five other guns. Sabaya, according to the witness, told him that he did so because the owner of the shop, Mohamed Al Saad, was engaged in the illegal trade of foreign exchange without a permit and he was selling goods without receipts, thus sabotaging the country’s economy.
Msangi, who is Sombetini Ward Councillor in Arusha, said Sabaya threatened to kill him with a pistol because he was harassing and defending Alswani Sunnah, who was dealing in business of foreign exchange illegally and sabotaging the country, prompting his bodyguards to strike him unconscious.
The seventh witness, who is Officer in Charge Criminal Investigation in Arusha District, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Gwakisa Minga, said in his testimony that Sabaya did not have a warrant to search or arrest in accordance with the laws and regulations of the operation.
Worse, according to the witness, the police in Arusha and all other state agencies had no information about the operation, so the arrest and search conducted by the accused person was illegal and the entire operation was malicious.
In May 2021, President Samia Suluhu Hassan suspended Sabaya from being the Hai DC, pending investigations over some accusations.
Former Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner the late Anna Mghwira had once warned the former Sambasha Ward councilor over unnecessary arrests.
Sabaya would later appear on Clouds Tv 360 programme as a guest to give details on his performance as the area DC. He also used the opportunity to vindicate some of the allegations levelled against him. The former DC described such allegations as “political games.”
