Four albino killers get death sentences

From left: Nassoro Charles, Singu Nsiantemi, Masaru Kahindi and Ndahanya Lumola, who were yesterday sentenced to death for the brutal murder of an albino woman in 2008

Geita. The husband of a 32-year-old woman with albinism is among four men sentenced to death for her 2008 killing in Nyamaruru Village. Zawadi Magindu’s attackers, who included her husband Nassoro Charles, cut her limbs and right hand with an axe and a machete.

High Court Judge Joacquine Demello ruled that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the four committed the murder.

The killers are Nassoro Charles, a resident of Beda Village in Kagera Region, Masaru Kahindi of Nyamaruru Village in Geita Region, Ndahanya Lumola whose origin was not stated, and Singu Nsiantemi from Kakoyoyo Village in Bukombe District.

The four attacked the woman at 7pm as she ate dinner. Kahindi, a neighbour, and Magindu’s husband were armed with an axe and a machete. They chopped off her legs and right hand.

Said the Judge: “The attackers also beat and threw out of the house the mother of the deceased, Ms Magdalena Mashimba, and her granddaughter, Semen Hamisi. As they beat the elderly woman, her granddaughter--who was hiding behind the door--identified the attackers and their voices since there was moonlight on that night.”

The other convicts--Ndahanya Lumola and Singu Nsiantemi--were dealers in albino parts and were arrested in a manhunt police launched shortly after the murder was reported. “When questioned by police, the two acknowledged being dealers of albino organs and said they were delivering them to a witchdoctor identified as Gerald Mazuri, who later sold the parts to some white men in Geita,” said the judge. “Given the evidence that the four suspects took part in murdering the innocent woman in different ways, and taking into account the escalating killing of people with albinism in the country, I sentence them to death.”

Tens of albinos have been killed countrywide between 2007 and 2015. The sentence was the first of cases related to albino killings in Geita and the 16th nationwide. Between 2009 and 2011, 11 people were sentenced to death in connection with albino killings.

In September 2009, three people were found guilty of killing 14-year-old Matatizo Dunia by cutting his legs in Bukombe District in Shinyanga Region. In November of the same year, four other people in Shinyanga were sentenced to death for killing a 50-year-old man with albinism.

In July 2010, the High Court in Northern Zone sentenced 50-year-old Kazimiri Mashauri to death for killing a five-year-old albino girl by hacking off her legs with a machete and then drinking her blood. He took off with the severed limbs, leaving the girl to die.

In June 2011, the High Court in Tabora sentenced three people to death for killing another girl with albinism, Ester Charles. The culprits were Charles Kalamuyi, Masumbuko Madada and Merdadi Maziku. source The Citizen

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Membe lobbying for withheld GBS funds

                                                    Foreign Affairs Minister Benard Membe.

Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Bernard Membe has said he will this week meet with Tanzania’s development partners who have withheld funds for the General Budget Support on corruption allegation grounds.

Membe said the main aim of his mission is to convince the donors to release the money they have suspended for the General Budget Support which might affect government operations if not released.
The minister said before he meets the donors, he would go through the Tegeta Escrow Account report first.

The minister vowed that any official implicated in the scandal will be taken to task.

He would not name any officials implicated, but several government officials, banks and court officials have been mentioned by a section of the media to have been involved in the decade old scam of the nation which has rendered power bill to skyrocket.

“The Controller and Auditor General’s report on Tegeta Escrow Account is ready and I will have a look at it before I meet the development partners. My meeting with the development partners is mainly meant to find a solution to the standoff,” he said on the sidelines of the interview at the official opening of the First Voice of Social Sciences International Conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

He hastened to add: “Tomorrow (today) or Wednesday I am going to meet with the development partners, the aim being to plead with them to release the GBS withheld funds to the tune of USD500m (roughly 846bn/-).”

According to the minister, the country will continue to maintain transparency on such matters as doing so will help foster good governance.

“If there is any one implicated in this matter, disciplinary action shall be taken immediately,” he noted.
The conference is organised by the University of Dar es Salaam, School of Social Sciences.

Speaking at the conference, Membe called on academics to assist the government in conducting research on issues pertaining to corruption saying their finds would have a big impact on individuals and the nation at large.

Membe said it is wrong to pretend that there is no corruption while the wananchi are being affected by it.

“We should not reach a point of accepting that corruption is part and parcel of our country. This is why I implore on you members of the academics to help by carrying out scientific studies on corruption and give us recommendations on how it can be touted out,” he said.

He added: “If professors will not do research untrustworthy people who have no knowledge in research will do the same for the interest of few people through their finances.”

Dean Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof Sam Maghimbi promised to work on the matter for the benefit of the nations.
The two-day conference with the theme Achieving Sustainability in an Interconnected World” has brought together over 200 academicians from different countries in Africa with aim of discussing four issues, the organisers said.

They include energy, research, corruption and environment.
Meanwhile, the Controller and Auditor General’s report on the transactions involving the Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL)   in the Tegeta Escrow Account has been referred to a Parliamentary Public Accounts subcommittee for closer scrutiny.

The report will be examined by full committee of the PAC before making its recommendations to the Parliament.

Speaking yesterday in Dodoma shortly after receiving the report from the Assembly Deputy Speaker, Job Ndugai, Committee Chairman Zitto Kabwe said the committee will operate as an investigating entity.

In executing its ten-day task, the committee will in the first place meet the Controller and Auditor General, who carried out the probe, to be followed by the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) director general.

“This marks government commitment in working on the matter as recommended by Members of the Parliament. All the matters have been held quite open, we have the report and we assure you that we will deliver to our best,” the chairman said.

Kabwe, who had earlier recommended for live broadcast as the PAC investigates those implicated in the saga, yesterday rescinded his stand, saying that all proceeding will be in camera.
This is because the committee will be working as an investigatory body, he insisted.

The chairman said the committee will work around the clock to ensure that all the required matters are addressed without fear or favour.

Deo Filikunjombe, PAC Deputy Chairman said the ten days that the committee will be working on the document are more than enough to conclude the saga.

Applauding media houses for revealing the scandal, Filikunjombe noted that media had played a pivot role and that “we have to thank them for making the matter public.”

He said there is no doubt that PAC has never backed down in its proceedings, especially in examining controversial reports and that the PAC sittings will resort to justice. source the Guardians

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Bunge team begins work on CAG report

Deputy Speaker Job Ndugai (right) hands over the CAG’s report on the Tegeta escrow account controversy to Public Accounts Committee chairman Zitto Kabwe (centre) and his deputy, Mr Deo Filikunjombe, in Dodoma yesterday.

 Dodoma. A parliamentary team today begins to dissect the voluminous report by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) on the Tegeta escrow account scandal following the official release of the document by the Office of the Speaker.

Members of the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) scrutiny of the anxiously-awaited report will facilitate the unravelling of how Sh306 billion in taxpayers’ money was withdrawn from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and ended up in the coffers of a private company.

Apparently, the money should have been claimed by Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco), but was questionably withdrawn to facilitate a suspect purchase of the Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) by Pan Africa Power (PAP).

The funds were deposited with the BoT as part of a guarantee requirement in the multi-billion shillings electricity supply contract between IPTL and Tanesco. 

Deputy Speaker Job Ndugai, who handed over the report and other evidence contained in various documents to PAC at a brief function in Dodoma, pledged openness on the handling of the remaining process.

Also present at the handing-over function were other committee members and minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Coordination and Parliamentary Affairs), Mr William Lukuvi.

PAC chairman Zitto Kabwe (Kigoma North-Chadema) and his deputy Deo Filikunjombe (Ludewa–CCM) poured praise on The Citizen newspaper for blowing the whistle on the matter and consistently following up on further developments.

“Even the PAC never knew anything about this IPTL scandal until The Citizen broke the story that is now appearing to be of help to Parliament as discharges its duty of supervising the government,” Mr Filikunjombe said.

Mr Ndugai directed the PAC to use the Parliamentary Immunities, Powers and Privileges Act to steer the process as it studies the report before its scheduled tabling in Parliament next week.

He said the committee should also work on the advice from both the CAG and that of the Prevention and Combating of the Corruption Bureau (PCCB), whose report on the same escrow scandal will also be availed to Parliament.

The deputy speaker tasked the office of the Clerk of National Assembly to work with PAC in ensuring that the task is completed on time and handed over to him for approval before it is tabled for open debate.

The Citizen confirmed that the Clerk, Dr Thomas Kashilila, immediately allocated PAC a team of four senior officials from his office who will work closely with the committee as the task to comb through the report starts.

The public is eagerly awaiting the final outcome and recommendations of the PAC on the scandal that has seen donor countries suspend budget funding for this year to the government in the tune of nearly Sh1 trillion. 

According to Mr Kabwe, his committee would summon the corruption watchdog’s boss, Dr Edward Hoseah, and CAG to appear before his team to give clarification on various issues contained in their respective reports.

Asked if nine days would enough to accomplish its work, Mr Filikunjombe said: “They are enough because we have all the facts with us from the CAG’s report,” he said.

They said the committee would discharge its duties in camera as a probe instrument and further asked Tanzanians to observe patience, promising that all wrongdoers implicated in the report would be exposed.source the Citizen

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Body Parts Dumping Irks Many

 adavers dumped in an open space outside Dar es Salaam

FOLLOWING the weird incident of dumping parts of human bodies in a valley at Mbweni Mpiji area in Kinondoni Municipality in Dar es Salaam on Monday, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) is pushing for immediate investigations and a clear-cut explanation on the issue.

In the same vein, the Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT) has strongly condemned the incident, referring to sanctions, including immediate closure, which had been taken against an institution that was involved in a similar abominable act in some other country.

So far, eight staff members of the International Medical and Technological University (IMTU), including doctors, are helping the police in their investigations in connection with the macabre discovery.

Deputy Health and Social Welfare Minister Dr Steven Kebwe condemned the incident, describing it as an inhuman act whose perpetrators should not left to go scot free. He pledged "painstaking investigations after which suspected offenders should be made to feel the full brunt of the law".

"This is an unusual happening that we must condemn in the strongest possible terms. There are many medical colleges in Tanzania, including the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), but we have never heard that they have done such a disgusting thing," he observed.

He added that the human body must be handled with care and treated with all the respect it deserves, further observing that the dumping act was a true reflection of decaying morals and violations of laws.

Dr Kebwe affirmed that the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) was supposed to take action against the college's management for its decision to dispose the bodies in area close to a residential neighbourhood instead of incinerating them.

MAT President Dr Primus Saidia affirmed that the incident was a gross violation of laws, human rights and medical ethics.

"The act makes the institution involved to disqualify itself from using human bodies in conducting practical lessons... and if it is a hospital then the incident automatically disqualifies it from offering medical services to human beings," he stressed.

The association has called on the relevant authorities to take immediate legal and disciplinary measures against the perpetrators.

The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Services, Ms Margaret Sitta, appealed to relevant bodies investigate the matter and find out the reasons behind the ghastly act. "The entire affair is not only immoral but also frightening.

I am thankful to the police and other pertinent authorities for their immediate response as it has come to our attention that investigations are going on while a number of suspects have been held," she said.

MoEVT Permanent Secretary Professor Sifuni Mchome told the 'Daily News' that the police, MoHSW, Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) and MoEVT have embarked on investigations to establish the reasons behind the act.

He pointed out that after the report on the investigations, which he said would be presented without delay, necessary legal and disciplinary measures will be taken against the institution and all other persons who were involved in the matter. "It is too early now to say exactly what our stand on this matter is.

After the investigations and basing on the expected report, we are going to announce measures to be taken against the institution right away," he declared.

An intern doctor from one of the Dar es Salaam-based medical colleges, talking on condition of anonymity, told the 'Daily News' that they were using human bodies in their practical lessons but had never seen such bodies being dumped in such an undignified manner.

He explained that in all years of bachelor degree studies, medical students, according to the current curriculum, were supposed to use cadavers in one semester of the first year lessons. "Where does the college exactly get these bodies?" is the question which he said ran deep in their minds.

However, according to him, they were made to believe that they could be bodies of those who died in the hospitals whose relatives failed to collect. He noted that the bodies were kept to last for number of years and after practical lessons were returned to the mortuary for preservation.

"To avoid trauma related to dealing with bodies of relatives, some people, though I am not so sure, were saying that medical colleges have been exchanging cadavers with other universities," he further noted.

He explained that the exchange, if really that was the case in Tanzania, was a good programme because it checks against a student being presented with a body of a person he or she knows.

TCU Principal Communications Officer Mr Edward Mkaku also observed that the commission was only mandated to recognise, approve, register and accredit universities operating in Tanzania, leaving the institutions to handle their own teaching modalities.

He however, maintained that after the investigations, which have also included a representative from the commission, being the coordinating body, TCU will take legal action in accordance with recommendations from the investigation team.

Reached for comment yesterday, the Dar es Salaam Special Zonal Police Commander, Mr Suleiman Kova, said investigations into the matter were still going on and thus could not give more details.
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Human Beings Deserve Respect - Dead or Alive

ON Monday evening this week, the social media networks were awash with reports of body parts that were dumped atsource allAfrica.com

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6 charged with terrorism over Arusha restaurant bombing

 These six men were charged with terrorism at the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Arusha on Wednesday in connection to the recent bombing of a popular Indian restaurant.


Arusha. Six people were yesterday charged with terrorism in Arusha.

The accused allegedly carried out the bomb attack at a popular restaurant in the city earlier this month.

They were among eight people who were arrested on Monday night during an operation in which seven hand grenades and bomb-making material were also seized

The six were brought to the Arusha Resident Magistrate’s Court at around 1.20pm under tight security.

Scores of people jostled to get a glimpse of the suspects as they were being escorted into the court.

Mr Shaaban Mussa Mmasa, alias Jamal, 26; Mr Athumani Hussein Mmasa, 38; Mr Mohamed Nuru Salehe, 30; Mr Jaffari Hashim Lema, 38; Mr Abdul Muhamed Humud, 30, and Mr Saidi Maiko Temba, 42, appeared composed as the charges against them were being read out.

They were not allowed to enter a plea when they appeared before Resident Magistrate Rose Ngoka because terrorism-related cases are only heard by the High Court.

Prosecutors Augustino Kombe and Felix Kwatukia told the packed courtroom that the accused were involved in acts of terrorism in Arusha between February and July, this year.

They said the accused conspired to attack Vama Restaurant and carried out the July 7 bomb attack on the establishment, which wounded eight people.

Mr Athumani Mmasa and Mr Lema were also charged with illegal possession of explosives.

Mr Lema, Mr Saleh and Mr Temba faced an additional charge of facilitating terror attacks in Arusha by providing money to various people.

The  case was adjourned until August 6 when it will come up for another mention and the accused were remanded.

A 30-year-old man who was arrested in Monday’s operation and who police described as the “mastermind” of the attacks was not among those charged yesterday.

The suspect was arrested along with his wife after a cache of arms was found in their house.

Seven hand grenades, six rounds of ammunition, machetes and a powdery substance for making explosives were recovered from the house.

Director of Criminal Investigations Isaiah Mngulu told journalists on Tuesday that the suspect was among people who were being sought in connection with a series of bomb attacks in Arusha that have killed eight people and wounded at least 100 since May, last year.source the Citizen

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