Jealous man burns wife over cheating suspicions

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar

TWENTY six-year Samira Abasi is battling for her life after a boyfriend doused her with kerosene and set her alight following a row in Paje village, Unguja South Region.

“He decided to wet me before throwing fire. I would have died on the spot, but fortunately there was a bucket full of water, which I poured on myself. But already I was badly burnt,” Ms Abbasi said as she spoke from her hospital bed in Makunduchi.
She said the couple has been in love affair for some time and they were living together until the day her boyfriend suspected her of having love affairs with another man.
“The row started in a disco, and when he forced me back home, he decided to burn me,” she said amid sobs as the medical doctor attending said that, “Although she suffered severe burns, it is not life threatening.”
Immediately after the incident, the suspect, 29-year old Saidi Omar left the house at night and has since been living between Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, but the police said yesterday, “At last we got him before moving to seaport to escape.”
Unguja South Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Juma Saad Khamis thanked the good Samaritans who tipped the force about the suspect’s mission to leave Zanzibar, saying he will soon be charged.
Community leaders and other politicians led by Maudline Cyrus Castico- Minister for Gender affairs visited and consoled the victim, strongly condemning the incident as a manifestation of gender violence.
“We should all condemn and work together to stop abuse of children and women,” said Ms Castico as activists from Tanzania Media Women Association appealed to the police to ensure justice prevails.