FOLLOWING the current wave of abductions and arbitrarily killings of civilians in Tanzania, the Former Mayor for Ubungo, Boniface Jacob, has advised his party, CHADEMA, to abstain from any cooperation with police because they are the main suspects. Caling himself “the voice of the silenced majority,” Jacob used his X/Twitter account late today to voice out his feelings in Kiswahili, translated as follows:
I have been informed that on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, the Kinondoni Regional Police Force, through the Kinondoni RCO, called CHADEMA lawyers, stating that they needed Secretary-General John Mnyika for questioning.
If John Mnyika and CHADEMA cooperate with the Tanzanian Police Force following the so-called investigation committee, they will be making a huge joke about us, their members, who are abducted and killed. Police are the main suspects of these incidents.
The Police Force lacks moral legitimacy due to the disappearance of over 100 people, six of whom were CHADEMA members, with one found murdered in the Ununio area.
CHADEMA leaders should meet and come up with a unified party position on where they will present their evidence and the information they know about the abductors and murderers.
CHADEMA has reliable information, but they lack a credible and sincere authority to handle their claims.
The Tanzanian Police Force has no intention of taking action or stopping the abductions and killings of citizens or CHADEMA members but instead aims to find out what CHADEMA knows about their accusations to use this opportunity to cover up the truth and destroy evidence.
The Tanzanian Police Force heard CHADEMA Chairman Freeman Mbowe on August 22, 2024, accusing the Police Force and specifically ZCO of the Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone, ACP Faustine Mafwele, of coordinating and overseeing groups conducting abductions within the Police Force, with their base behind the Chang’ombe Police Station, commonly known as Tembo 7.
Despite hearing the accusations by Freeman Mbowe on August 22, 2024, the Police Force never publicly denied the allegations.They never summoned Freeman Mbowe to question him and find out the truth behind the allegations. They never charged Freeman Mbowe with misinformation or incitement as we are used to. They never informed the public that they were investigating Mbowe’s allegations.What the Police Force did was go and dismantle the base of the task force accused by Freeman Mbowe of conducting abductions and killings behind the Chang’ombe Police Station (Tembo 7). They have now moved to a new location in the Mpingo House area.
Meanwhile, police officers named by Freeman Mbowe deleted their social media accounts, just as Officer Semageni Shabani, one of the accused in the Chang’ombe Police task force (Tembo 7), did.
If the Tanzanian Police Force had been genuinely committed to investigating Freeman Mbowe‘s allegations, the death of CHADEMA’s National Secretariat leader, Mr. Ali Muhammad Kibao, might not have occurred.
On September 7, 2024, at 12:00 PM, while CHADEMA Secretary-General John Mnyika was holding a press conference asking the Police Force to reveal the whereabouts of their leader Ali Muhammad Kibao, the Police Force had already taken Ali Muhammad Kibao’s body from Ununio and transferred it to Kinondoni Regional Referral Hospital in Mwananyamala.
On the same day, September 7, 2024, Police Spokesperson DCP David Misime issued a statement regarding the investigation into John Mnyika’s allegations. By then, the Police Force had already collected the body of Ali Muhammad Kibao over eight hours earlier, at 7:00 AM, after Ununio spinach farmers notified authorities about seeing a human body near their fields.
Throughout that time, the Police Force knew the body found in Ununio was that of the missing CHADEMA leader.
Instead of informing CHADEMA, the Police Force bypassed them and contacted the deceased’s relatives, instructing them to go to Mwananyamala Hospital that same day, September 7, 2024, around noon. Even after the relatives identified the body of Ali Muhammad Kibao, the Police Force concealed the information from CHADEMA and requested the family keep the funeral private and non-political, excluding CHADEMA from the proceedings. When CHADEMA and their lawyers arrived at Kinondoni Regional Referral Hospital in Mwananyamala at the morgue, the police prevented CHADEMA from entering the autopsy room. This is further confirmed by the Police Force’s statement on September 7, 2024, through their spokesperson DCP David Misime, in which they said they were only willing to cooperate with the family, deliberately avoiding mentioning CHADEMA in their statement, despite knowing that the deceased was a CHADEMA leader.
So, has the Police Force now suddenly realized they need CHADEMA’s cooperation? This can easily be called extreme hypocrisy, which we must not overlook.
The Police Force suddenly seeking CHADEMA’s cooperation now is blatant hypocrisy. The Police ignored CHADEMA, covered their ears, and refused to act on CHADEMA’s accusations against officers accused of running abduction and murder operations. Instead, the suspects remain in their offices, continuing their dirty work.
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John Mnyika
After seeing President Samia Suluhu offering condolences to the family and CHADEMA and condemning the murders, the Police Force suddenly pretended to investigate or brought in additional officers to investigate the abduction and killing of Ali Kibao.
CHADEMA should not fall into the trap of being questioned by the Police again, especially by the RCO, who is under the supervision of their boss, ZCO Faustine Mafwele, whom CHADEMA has publicly accused of being involved in the abduction and disappearance of people in Dar es Salaam, including Godwin Mlay, Deusdedith Soka, and Frank Mbise.
Instead, CHADEMA should prepare their evidence and witnesses and present their testimony to an independent judicial commission, just like Judge Kipenka Mussa did in the Mahenge, Morogoro killings of businessmen.
This commission should be free to collect information, question suspects and witnesses, and make recommendations on each accusation.
