Kigoma – An opposition party councillor-elect and ten other individuals have been charged with armed robbery and arson following an attack on a government office in Kigoma on election day.
The incident has heightened political tensions in the region, where the main opposition party, ACT Wazalendo, has alleged a coordinated crackdown on its members.
Juma Mzee Shaban, the only ACT Wazalendo candidate to win a council seat in the Kigoma Ujiji municipality, was among the eleven people who appeared before the Kigoma District Court on November 7, 2025.
They face two serious charges: armed robbery, contrary to Section 287A of the Penal Code, and arson, contrary to Section 319(a) of the Penal Code.
The charge sheet, filed as Criminal Case No. 26490 of 2025, alleges that on October 30, 2025, the accused, along with others still at large, attacked the Kagera Ward Executive Office. They are accused of stealing five executive tables and eleven chairs, valued at Sh3,380,000, and threatening a ward official, Jafari Hassan, with machetes, sticks, stones, and iron bars.
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Furthermore, the group is accused of setting fire to the Kagera Ward Executive Office, causing damage valued at Sh59,323,800. The total value of the alleged theft and damage amounts to Sh62,703,800.
The arrests and charges follow a contentious election day in which, according to reports, 117 members of the ACT Wazalendo party were detained. Among those arrested was Zitto Kabwe, the party’s prominent parliamentary candidate for the Kigoma Mjini constituency.
While most were released, 15 remained in custody. Eleven of them now face these charges, while four others are reportedly still under investigation. The party has also claimed that some of its members and leaders have gone into hiding, fearing arrest.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), ACT Wazalendo confirmed the charges against their councillor-elect and the ten other individuals, stating they were initially denied bail. However, a subsequent report from a local media outlet suggested that Shaban and others may have been granted bail.
The attack on the Kagera ward office occurred in a ward where the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) candidate, Gregory Fednand Keberezo, was declared the winner. In the wider Kigoma Ujiji municipality, CCM won 18 of the 19 council seats, giving the party a strong majority in the local government for the next five years. Juma Mzee Shaban’s victory in the Kasimbu ward was the sole win for ACT Wazalendo in the municipality.
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The eleven accused individuals are all residents of the Kigoma region and represent a cross-section of the local working population. The group includes four residents from Kagera Ujiji, the same area where the alleged attack took place.
Among them are Ibrahim Hamis, a 40-year-old fisherman; Mussa Khamis Mussa, a 38-year-old mason; Ayoub Hassan Juma, a 40-year-old peasant; and Ramadhani Kasim Toma, a 31-year-old peasant.
Four others hail from Kasimbu ward, the constituency where Juma Mzee Shaban won his council seat for ACT Wazalendo. These include Silabu Maliyatabu Kasilabwe, a 22-year-old motorcyclist; Bakari Khalid Rajabu, a 31-year-old motorcyclist; Abubakar Jumanne Kabuga, a 29-year-old motorcyclist; and Fadhili Jumapili Fadhili, a 30-year-old mason. The prominence of motorcyclists among the accused reflects the importance of motorcycle taxi services in the region’s informal economy.
The remaining accused come from other parts of the Kigoma region. Ahmad Hamis Ismaili, a 24-year-old mason from Busomelo, and Mohamedi Abdallah, a 44-year-old peasant from Rusomero, complete the list of those charged. At 49 years old, Juma Mzee Shaban, a fisherman from Ujiji, is among the oldest of the accused and the only one with an elected political position.
The case is ongoing at the Kigoma District Court, and the legal proceedings will determine the fate of the accused.
