Sugu, co-accused to hear their cases from remand prison

Mbeya.  Mbeya Urban Member of Parliament Joseph Mbilinyi alias ‘Sugu’ and Chadema’s Secretary for the Southern Highlands Zone, Mr Emmanuel Masonga, will continue hearing their cases at Resident Magistrate’s Court- Mbeya from a remand prison after they were denied bail.

Mr Mbilinyi and Mr Masonga are accused of allegedly using a language that undermined President John Magufuli at a public meeting held on December 30, last year, at Mwenge Primary School gorunds in the City.

The move comes after Mbeya Resident Magistrate’s Court made its decision that Sugu and Masonga would continue to languish in remand while giving the reason that the cases were required to be heard in a short period consecutively from next week.

The court’s Resident Magistrate in-Charge, Mr Michael Mteite, made the decision yesterday at noon when he was reading arguments given by lawyers from two sides over bail.

On Tuesday this week, Sugu and Masonga were taken to court for the offence and the Prosecution’s state attorney, Mr Joseph Pande, read out charges facing each of the accused and asked the court not to grant bail to them citing security reasons; even as defence lawyers Sabina Yonga and Boniface Mwabukusi asked the court to grant bail to their clients on claim that it was their right and that the offence were with which they were charged was bailable.

However, Chadema’s Secretary in Mbeya Region, Mr Boid Mwabulanga, told The Citizen outside the court that the defence lawyers were intending to appeal against the court’s decision.