Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Friday, February 4, 2022.
Samia tells police cannot investigate itself, orders independent investigation
President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Friday announced that she has directed Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa to form a team that will independently investigate the alleged murder of a police officer in Mtwara, saying that the police cannot investigate itself.
Businessman Mussa Hamisi, 25, in Mtwara was reportedly killed by seven police officers after the law enforcers had allegedly robbed him of Sh70 million. The officers have since been arrested and arraigned in connection to the murder.
“I heard that the police have killed, and then commissioned their own investigation into the crime,” President Samia, who was en-route to Mara for the 45th anniversary of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), said. “I now direct the Prime Minister to conduct a separate investigation and both reports should be brought forth for comparison.”
The Mtwara incident is one among several others that have been reported in the past few days involving both homicide and suicide. It was, however, one of the very few that implicated members of the law enforcement agency in the murder.
President Samia thus asked Home Affairs Minister Hamad Masauni that he must make sure that the police reflect on the incident and do the needful.
“[The police] should look at what happened and ask themselves if that’s what is required of them or it is otherwise,” the Head of State said. “We will therefore wait on the report by the independent committee that will be formed by the Prime Minister and we will compare it with that of the police.”
Mr Majaliwa’s office announced Friday that he has formed a nine-member committee to investigate the incident and it is expected to present its findings to him after 14 days.
The premier also ordered Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Simon Sirro to suspend senior police officers from Mtwara and Kilindi, Tanga to pave the way for the investigation.
Five people were reportedly shot dead and slaughtered while three more were injured in a fracas between herdsmen and farmers that took place on Sunday, January 30, 2022, at Kibirashi and Elerai villages, Kilindi District, Tanga.
Tanzania puts the number of animals killed by drought to over 300,000
Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Mashimba Ndaki told Xinhua news agency on Friday that at least 306,358 animals, including cattle, goats, sheep and donkeys have been killed by drought in Tanzania in the past five months.
Mr Ndaki said this is based on an assessment conducted by experts from the ministry in January. The assessment showed that the animals were killed between September 2021 and January 2022 for lack of water and pasture caused by long dry spells.
The animals were killed in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Morogoro, Tanga and Coast, the six regions that were most hit by the long dry spells caused by erratic seasonal rains, Ndaki told Xinhua.
“We thank God that rains started falling in January in most of the six regions, breathing a sigh of relief to livestock keepers,” the news agency quoted Mr Ndaki as saying.
He added that the government has taken a number of measures aimed at saving the animals from further deaths, including the construction of cattle dip vats to protect the cattle from ticks.
The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, in collaboration with the Ministry of Water, has been digging boreholes in selected areas to provide water to the animals.
On January 30, 2020, the Tanzania Red Cross Society (TCRS) put out a statement saying that over two million people from the northern regions of Manyara, Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Tanga in Tanzania are experiencing livelihood impacts caused by drought that has lasted for more than four months now.
The TRCS explained that the ongoing drought in Tanzania has affected crop growth, reduced the availability of water and pasture for livestock. Some pastoralists coped with the situation and tried to migrate to other areas looking for water and pasture but still unsustainable as most of the areas are facing the same challenge.
Six journalists detained, questioned in Ngorongoro while doing their work
Six journalists were on Thursday were on Thursday detained and questioned for at least three hours by Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) authorities, press freedom watchdog MISA-Tanzania said on Friday.
Amina Ngahewa (Mwananchi); Allan Isack (Nipashe; Profit Mmanga (Wasafi TV); Apopo Benjamin (Daily News); Janeth Mushi (Mwananchi) Julius Sagati (StarTV) told MISA-Tanzania that they were detained despite showing their press credentials to relevant authorities.
The journalists were covering a village meeting with the Ngorongoro sanctuary amidst tension between villagers and the conservation’s guards.
Authorities admitted to having detained the journalists, claiming they did not follow procedures.
“MISA-Tanzania urges authorities in Tanzania and all stakeholders to desist from interfering in the work of media practitioners,” the watchdog said in a statement.
It also urged journalists to follow necessary procedures during the cause of their work to avoid unnecessary distractions.
Tensions have been running high in Ngorongoro in recent days as the government has embarked on what activists have labelled as “a dispossession campaign” against pastoral communities whose lives and survival depend on the land the government is asking them to vacate from.
Campaign to support Mbowe’s legal team launched
An online fundraising campaign to support the legal team of CHADEMA national chairperson Mr Freeman Mbowe and his three co-accused in the terrorism and economic sabotage case has been launched with an ambitious target of collecting $100,000.
Mr Mbowe was brought before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court for the first time on July 26, 2021, accused of taking part in conspiracies to blow up fueling stations and other public gatherings as well as funding terrorist acts before his case was transferred to the High Court. Others in the case No. 16/2021 are Halfan Hassan, Adam Kasekwa and Mohamed Lingwenya.
Mr Mbowe’s legal team consists of Peter Kibatala, Dickson Matata, John Mallya, Nashon Nkungu, and Evaresta Kisanga. Others are Michael Lugina, Khadija Aron, Jeremiah Mtobesya, Maria Mushi, Sisty Aloyce, Paul Kisabo, Alex Massaba Seleman Matauka, Idd Msawanga, and Faraji Mangula.
The organizers of the campaign – former Arusha Urban MP (CHADEMA) Godbless Lema; political activist Maria Sarungi-Tsehai and CHADEMA member Liberatus Mwangonde – say the “courageous men and women” have done an extraordinary job under very tough and dangerous conditions in defence of democracy.
“They have put aside their daily jobs (sources of income) in defence of democracy,” they write on the fundraising campaign’s page. “We must be mindful of the fact that [these people] have bills to pay and families to feed, they currently face the dire financial situation. We are therefore requesting your support to raise funds for the legal team.”
A total of $7,434 has been raised since the campaign was launched.
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One Response
Is COVID-19 a MAN-MADE pandemic? Or is it a scourge intended for mass sterilization of Africans using vaccines? Why are IMF and World Bank vigorously pushing for these vaccines loans to Africa?
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“The World Bank gave the Indian government a loan of US $66 million dollars between 1972 and 1980 for sterilization. In fact, Indira Gandhi was pressed by Western democracies to implement a crash sterilization program to control India’s population.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNKDU9mNVnw
India is country where people are categorized by skin color; ( the CASTE System) . This system can mean a matter of life and death if one has the misfortune of belonging to the lower caste! The forced sterilization funded by the WORLD BANK had life defining consequences to those Indians belonging to the lower classes, powerless or poor!