Magistrate warns Lwakatare over skipping court sessions

Bukoba Urban MP elect Mr Wilfred Lwakatare

FAUSTINE KAPAMA

THE Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday warned the Member of Parliament (MP), for Bukoba Urban, Wilfred Lwakatare, for failure to show up for criminal trial he is facing.

Principal Resident Magistrate, Thomas Simba directed the law maker from the opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), to attend the next court session set for December 21, or he will be forced to issue an arrest warrant against him.

A surety, one Paschal Mwita, came to inform the court as to why Lwakatare, who is also Chadema’s Director of Defence and Security, was absent as he was attending other parliamentary duties and serving electorate.

Lwakatare had brought in advance a letter seeking permission for not attending the session to allow him attend his parliamentary duties. The Magistrate, however, reacted that being MP was not an excuse for not attending court sessions.

The State Attorney, Pamela Shinyambala, informed the court that she got information about the letter in question few minutes before entering the session. On the status of the case, the trial attorney told the court that investigations into the case have not been completed.

In the case Lwakatare is charged alongside one, Joseph Ludovick, with conspiring to administer poison to Dennis Msacky, the Managing Director of a privately owned newspaper.

According to the prosecution, the two accused conspired to maliciously administer poison with intent to harm Mr Msacky on December 28, 2012, at King’ong’o, Kimara Stop Over in Kinondoni District, in the city.

Previously, the two accused were charged with terrorist charges, but on May 8, last year, High Court Judge, Lawrence Kaduri dismissed them because the offences did not show elements of terrorism as the law required.

The Judge explained that the charges must be sufficient to give reasonable information as to the nature of offence charged. In a move to oppose the High Court’s decision, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), took the matter to the Court of Appeal for intervention.

However, on December 5, last year, the Appeals Court rejected the application by DPP after upholding ground of objection regarding the legality of the action.