THE Arusha District Commissioner (DC), Mr Gabriel Daqarro, has warned local politicians against insinuating lies against state organs here with the aim of breaching peace.
Mr Daqarro was responding to claims
raised by the Arusha City Mayor, Mr Kalisti Lazaro, who had earlier
claimed that all ward councillors in Arusha were on the police’s wanted
list and that is why they failed to turn up for their monthly ‘Full
Council’ meeting scheduled for last Monday.
The Full Council meeting was forced to
adjourn after it became apparent that there would be a lack of quorum at
the Regional Commissioner’s meeting hall.
But in reality, most ward councillors
who decided not to attend the Full Council meeting had instead gone to
the Regional Magistrate’s Court for the ongoing case facing Arusha Urban
MP (CHADEMA), Godbless Lema.
The MP was arrested by the police here
last Friday after he allegedly wrote and distributed seditious
statements online aimed at inciting chaos ahead of the planned
countrywide demonstrations planned by the opposition party next
Thursday.
Lema spent the entire weekend at the
Central Police Station here where he was held in custody for two days in
that he tried to stage hunger strike so that he could be pardoned by
the security organs who were sticking to their guns.
Arusha Regional Police Commander (RPC)
Mr Charles Mkumbo had earlier reported that the opposition MP had been
circulating hate and seditious speeches in both written and recorded
audio-visual media in a bid to mobilise people to cause chaos.
“Lema has been circulating written and
audio statements through the internet and social media platforms
insinuating that the country will be plunged into bloodshed once the
opposition’s planned countrywide demo kicks into action,” explained Mr
Mkumbo.
The CHADEMA politician was also quoted
as saying higher authorities ‘’have reached the end of their thinking
capacity’’ and that is why the country was going to face disaster and
major losses come September 1, 2016.
Lema appeared before the Resident
Magistrate, Mr Desdery Kyaruzi Kamugisha, faced with a number of
charges, including the one that he had allegedly sent a threatening
message to the Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Mrisho Gambo.
State Attorney, Advocate Innocent Njau
told the court that Lema had written to the RC, saying; “Welcome to
Arusha....we shall deal with you the way queers are being dealt with in
the Emirates!”
The second charge is the one in which
the opposition politician is alleged to distribute seditious statements
and audio-cum-video clips online and through social media networks
inciting chaos through the planned demos. He denied the charges.
He was released on bail and his case
will come up for mention on November 13. Lema’s court case comes shortly
after another CHADEMA politician, Ally Bananga, the Ward Representative
for Sombetini, was arrested for trying to mobilise the people to
demonstrate in the streets during the outlawed September 1 Opposition
March. Bananga has appeared before a Resident Magistrate, Mr Augustino
Rwizile.
The state Attorney, Advocate Charles
Kagwira, read the charges against the 40 year-old politician, saying the
latter had committed the offence on August 13, 2016 in Karatu Township.
The court allowed Bananga to bail
himself out with a bond of 5 million/- He is currently out, awaiting the
second mention of his case on September 22.
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