Dar es Salaam. Lawyers for Edgar Edson Mwakabela alias Sativa have demanded authorities in Tanzania to pay their client a sum of Sh5 billion as damages for personal injuries, inhuman and degrading treatment and torture on the person whose ordeal shook many, and which continues to put law enforcement authorities on spotlight.
Private attorneys Jebra Kambole and Tito Magoti issued the police and the government with a 90-day statutory notice of their intention to sue the Inspector-General of Police, Attorney General and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs should they fail to pay the requested sum within the prescribed time frame.
The eight-page notice that The Chanzo has seen notes that Mr Mwakabela, who was reportedly abducted on June 23, 2024, in Dar es Salaam and severely tortured before he was abandoned at the Katavi National Park on June 27 in the region, “was subjected to egregious acts of torture and inhuman treatment” while in police custody.
He was unlawfully arrested in Kimara, Dar es Salaam, and transported to Oysterbay Police Station while handcuffed and blindfolded, where he reportedly suffered harsh treatment and torture. He was then transported to another police station in Arusha, over 360 miles north of Dar es Salaam.
While in Arusha, plainclothed men took Mwakabela to a bush where they tortured him for five hours while interrogating him about his role in mobilising for a traders’ boycott in Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam.
READ MORE: A 27-Year-Old Man Who Went Missing Found Tortured Following a Viral Campaign #WhereIsSativa
He was then driven to Katavi National Park, where he was again severely tortured before he was abandoned there, sustaining severe gunshot wounds. No one has been arrested and brought to justice regarding Mr Mwakabela’s ordeal.
“Considering the gravity and magnitude of the torture inflicted upon our client by [police] officials, we hereby present a demand for redress in the amount of 5 billion TZS,” the notice, issued on September 12, 2024, demanded. Authorities received it on September 19, 2024.
The compensation is sought for personal injuries, including gunshot wounds and other physical harm; mental and psychological distress; loss of expectations and opportunities due to unlawful detention and persecution; medical expenses incurred for necessary treatments and ongoing care; and inconveniences Mr Mwakabela and his family suffered as a consequence of the illegal actions.
Police have maintained that they’re not involved in the forced disappearances and abductions incidents that continue to dominate headlines in Tanzania, noting that investigations into all reported cases are underway to get to the bottom of the issue that fills many people with fear and uncertainty.
However, the law enforcement agency has been criticised for not prioritising the issue and for not ensuring transparency in the process, with some commenting that police cannot investigate a case in which they’re part of the accused.
Mr Mwakabela himself has accused the police of being involved in his abduction and torture, and he has repeatedly said that he can identify police officers who participated in abducting and torturing him because he remembers all of them through their faces.
“Even if I disappear tomorrow, the culprit will be the police,” Mwakabela, who has since been very vocal against police’s extrajudicial behaviour, wrote in a post on X on August 9, 2024. “They were the ones who abducted me for the first time on June 23, 2024.”
“They wanted to kill me by shooting me in the head while in a huge national park in Katavi, but I survived,” Mwakabela, who reports continuing to receive death threats, added. “Use this tweet to prosecute the police even when I’m gone.”
Mr Magoti, one of Mwakabela’s lawyers, told The Chanzo that there must be accountability following what their client endured, noting that issuing the demand letter and taking the matter to court if authorities ignore their notice is part of many efforts to achieve such accountability.
“We also expect that this decision will help end these extrajudicial practices, which continue to grow in our country,” Mr Magoti said in an interview. “These practices are unacceptable, and we feel it is our duty as lawyers, human rights activists and, most importantly, as citizens to uphold the rule of law.”
