Africa-Press – Tanzania. Dar es Salaam.
Defence lawyers in Chadema’s chairman Freeman Mbowe case yesterday asked the court to explain whether recent remarks by President Samia Suluhu Hassan did not interfere with the judicial independence, alleging that the opposition leader’s basic rights had been violated.
The lawyers argued Mr Mbowe and his three co-accused were judged, hence asked the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court to refer to the High Court the constitutional question.
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They were referring to President Hassan’s interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on August 9, saying the Head of State gave a statement that was “materially false in nature and most importantly touched on the merits of the proceedings related to economic and terrorism crimes currently pending in the court,” according to Mr Mbowe’s advocate Peter Kibatala.
Going by the notice signed by Advocate Kibatala, the statement by the President includes that the accused conspired to bomb and burn motor vehicles, to undertake terrorist acts and to hide beyond the constitutional reform agitation to mask their terrorist and unlawful acts.
Mr Kibatala said the interview and its utterances and the report through the media had had influence upon the general public and created substantial and uncorrectable prejudice to the conduct of fair trial in that the accused’s protestation to innocence had been compromised. “The interview has already cast in the mind of the general public a ‘judgement’ that the accused are guilty,” argued Mr Kibatala.
“Thus the publicity before trial has compromised both the accused right to protestation and presumption of their innocence before being found guilty, and amounts to a denial of a fair hearing before a court.
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“The accused are convinced that no fair trial can be heard, hence a mistrial has occurred.”
From the President’s statements during an interview with BBC, there are a number of questions that have arisen, according to the notice.
The questions include; whether the public statements by the President, which indicate the fate of the accused in the current proceedings, had violated the constitutional rights of the accused persons.
The list of questions also is on whether the accused could indeed have and expect a fair trial, which is a constitutionally guaranteed right, consequent to the said public statements by the President and whether a mistrial has indeed occurred.
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Another question is whether the pre-trial and continuing adverse publicity has not infringed upon the accused rights to fair trial, which is a constituently guaranteed right; and whether in those circumstances a mistrial should not be declared.
The case will be heard on August 27, 2021, according to Chief Resident Magistrate at Kisutu Court Thomas Simba.
