On Saturday, October 5, 2024, during a workshop against enforced disappearances by the Tanganyika Law Society, abduction victim Edgar Mwakalebela, popularly known as Sativa, shared his story virtually recounting his abduction and survival after an assassination attempt. Mwakalebela not only recounted his ordeal but also accused the Police Force of being directly involved in his abduction.
“Up to now, I have been accusing the police force on my online platforms that they were involved in my abduction, and if you visit my Twitter page, I have pinned a message about it at the very top,” Mwakabela said, speaking to the audience at the workshop organized by the Tanzania Lawyer Society.
He added: “I am saying this directly because I am sure, and I am confident about everything I am saying. I was taken to Oysterbay [Police Station], and it didn’t end there. I was also taken to Arusha, where I was held at a police station. I saw police officers dressed in uniforms giving me food and water, all in police uniforms.”
Mwakalebela was abducted on June 23, 2024, in Dar es Salaam and was found on June 27, 2024, in the remote section of Katavi National Park, left for dead after his abductors shot him in the head. On the day he was found, Sativa told the media that he had been taken to a workshop at the Oysterbay Police Station.
After recovering, he gave a detailed account of his ordeal during a one-hour Clubhouse session on August 7, 2024. In this session, Mwakalebela revealed how he discovered his locations. Although his abductors tried to make him believe they were taking him to Malawi after leaving Oysterbay, he realized he was in Arusha after noticing local water brands and hearing a public announcement about a political rally outside his cell.
READ: Lawyers for Torture Victim Edgar Mwakabela Seek Sh5b in Damages From Tanzanian Authorities
Mwakalebela also described the man he believed led the abduction. “He got out of the car and approached,” Mwakalebela recalled on Clubhouse about the man’s visit at the Oysterbay Police station. “From a distance, he appeared tall, wearing a Simba jersey and khaki shorts. He looked like someone from the Lake Zone—strong as if he was used to working out. He was completely dark with short hair, no beard, and was driving a fully white car.”
He said he didn’t recognize the man until August 22, 2024, when photos of a police officer he accused of leading abductions began circulating online. This is the day when the CHADEMA party accused the Senior Police Officer of leading a task force responsible for the abduction of its two leaders, Deusdedith Soka and Jacob Mlay alongside Frank Mbise who were abducted on August 18, 2024. After he was named, his pictures circulated heavily online.
“The day I saw this picture, I trembled. I was very scared and remembered the suffering I endured. I looked at the picture again and realized it was him who came to the police station that night at Oysterbay,” Mwakalebela wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on September 11, 2024, posting the picture of the officer he accused.
On Saturday, October 5, 2024, Mwakalebela reiterated these claims at the workshop, which prompted a response from the police. “On the 22nd [of August], I was able to identify the person who organized my abduction, Mr. Faustine Mafwele, the ZCO (Zonal Crime Officer) of the Police Force. He is the one who came that day. In my story, I describe how someone came in a white SUV to the police station. He was tall, dark-skinned, wearing a Simba jersey and khaki shorts. He gave instructions that I should be handcuffed and blindfolded,” Mwakalebela said.
Dar es Salaam Zonal Police Commander Jumanne Muliro, present at the event, responded to Mwakalebela’s accusations, suggesting there might be a distortion of facts.
Muliro argued: “He initially stated that he was abducted by some guys he didn’t know. After three months, someone identifying themselves as a whistleblower began writing on social media, claiming that the person who abducted Sativa was ‘X,’ who works at ‘Y’ office and wears a Simba t-shirt. They said he was the one who abducted the man. After that, Sativa came forward and said, ‘I know who abducted me,’ echoing the statements from social media, explaining the matter just as he is doing now.”
He added: “Human beings are always subject to distortion. This issue is being investigated by learned individuals, lawyers, and other legal institutions. Decisions will be made once the investigation is complete.”
Although Muliro didn’t name the whistleblower, many have linked the statement to Boniface Jacob, a CHADEMA party official who has been closely following abduction cases in the country.
On September 10, 2024, Jacob shared a WhatsApp message sent to him by Mwakalebela on August 22, 2024, which read, “This is the guy who came in at the workshop at Oysterbay. I have seen his picture and identified him,” accompanied by a photo of the officer Mwakalebela accused.
Jacob was arrested on September 18, 2024, and arraigned in court the following day for publishing false information. The court charge sheet states that Boniface Jacob, on September 12, 2024, while in Dar es Salaam, published false information claiming that: “…Mafwele is accused by many families of being involved in murders, including the disappearance of relatives of some of their families; the disappearance of businessman Mussa Mziba, the disappearance of Deo Mugasa, the disappearance of Adinani Hussein Mbezi, the disappearance of five youths from Aggrey…” the court charge sheet said Jacob published the statement on X.
Jacob was held in remand until October 7, 2024, when he was released on bail.
