AfricaPress-Tanzania: POLICE in Dar es Salaam have arrested two people for allegedly spreading fake news that misleads the public about the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Lazaro Mambosasa mentioned the two suspects as Boniface Elius Mwita aged 29 years and his wife Rose Mary Mwita (41), both residents of Tabata area in Ilala District.
The two were arrested on the 20th of this month at around 1pm onboard a public bus with registration numbers T119 DKS heading to Muhimbili National Hospital from Tabata area.
“The two suspects were brought to the police by other passengers who became angry after the couple started misinforming other passengers while in a ‘daladala’,” he said, adding that the two alleged that the government was misleading the public on the outbreak of COVID- 19 in Tanzania.
The two suspects, according to the police report, claimed that the government closed down all public schools and universities due to lack of money to feed the students and not because of the outbreak of COVID-19 as announced by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.
They also claimed that the government closed the schools with the aim of soliciting funds from donors. Commander Mambosasa said police investigations are complete and the suspects will be arraigned in court soon to answer the charges.
Commander Mambosasa warned the public to stay away from disseminating fake news and misinformation about COVID 19 as well as avoiding reckless jokes about the disease.
“I urge everyone to steer away from spreading fake news and avoid jokes about the disease that continues to claim lives,” he said.
He directed the public to stick on the information provided by the government and not otherwise, and follow all the guidelines provided by the government and relevant authorities on how to overcome the disease.
Meanwhile, police are holding five suspects for allegedly being involved in theft incidents in Dar es Salaam.
Commander Mambosasa mentioned the suspects as Juma John, Japhet Charles, Victor William, Joseph Charles and Anthony Christian.
The suspects were arrested after attacking and robbing one resident of a laptop worth 3.76m/- and several items.
According to the police, after investigations, the suspects were found to have stolen other things from various people, including 34 laptops, 10 mobile phones and television sets among other things.
The five will be arraigned in court after investigations are complete.
