Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

Families of five missing Tanzanians seek audience with Samia as search efforts get into fifth week

The families of five Tanzanians who had gone missing since December 26, 2021, told The Chanzo on Wednesday that they are seeking an audience with President Samia Suluhu Hassan as their efforts to locate their loved ones have so far proved futile.

The reports about the missing men have been circulating on social media recently as part of the efforts by their loved ones to locate them after they had gone to every police station and morgues in Dar es Salaam hoping to find them without any success.

The missing men have been identified as Tawfiq Mohammed, Seif Swala, Edwin Kunambi, Hemed Abbas and Rajab Mdowe. Based on the photographs that have been circulating online, the men seem to be between their late twenties and early thirties.

According to the statement by the mother of one missing man, the men were arrested by police on December 26, 2021, around the Kamata area in Kariakoo, while they were on their way to one of the beaches located in Kigamboni.

Slyvia Quentin, a parent of one of the missing men Tawfiq Mohammed, said that the men were driving in a black Toyota IST with her son behind the wheel before they were stopped and led to Central Police in downtown Dar es Salaam.

One of the men who were soon to go missing had sent out a message to a friend, reporting the arrest, adding that they were being taken to police central.

“We have been reporting to police since December 27 but there has been no success of getting our loved ones back,” Ms Quentin told The Chanzo. “Every time we go to the police they ask us questions about them [missing men] but receive no good news about their possible returns.”

A case on the missing men has been filed at the Msimbazi police station in Kariakoo.

The Chanzo asked Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Jumanne Muliro if he was aware of the reports about the missing men but said he could not talk because he was in a meeting, promising to call back.

When he did not call back, The Chanzo made a follow-up call where Mr Muliro asked the reporter to visit his office and share with him whatever information the reporter might have about the missing men.

“We want to see Home Affairs Minister Hamad Masauni and President Samia Suluhu Hassan and tell them about our children and if they can help us find them,” said Ms Quentin. “We have received no help from the police.”

US gives Tanzania more than 1 million doses of Pfizer vaccine

The government on Wednesday received over 1.6 million additional Pfizer BioNTech vaccine doses from the US government under the global COVAX vaccine sharing initiative, with the ministry of health official telling The Chanzo that authorities will share the vaccination drive status next week.

The vaccines were received yesterday by Dar es Salaam Regional Medical Officer Dr Rashid Mfaume at the Julius Nyerere International Airport from USAID Health Office Director Ananthy Thambinayagam.

In July 2021, the US donated more than one million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to Tanzania and 3.5 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine arrived in the country in three installments between November and January.

The US said in a statement on Wednesday that the donation is part of its global efforts to fight against the deadly coronavirus globally.

The move intends to further help the country to boost the drive to vaccinate its people against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These donations are indicative of the US government’s strong partnership and commitment to the Tanzanian people and our shared interest in defeating COVID-19 together,” it said in a statement.

Tanzania seeks to inoculate at least 60 percent of its 60-million population.

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