Take son to court, father urges police
Abdul Nondo
What you need to know:
Mr Omary Nondo said his son was entitled to be granted with police bail.
Dar es Salaam. The father of Tanzania students’ Networking Programme (TSNP), Abdul Nondo, currently in police custody, has urged Police to take his son’s case to court.
Mr Omary Nondo said his son was entitled to be granted with police bail.
He issued the plea on Saturday when speaking to The Citizen over the phone from Kigoma.
“If they have anything against him, let them take him to court. Let court proceedings start instead of holding him indefinitely,” he said.
He added “It is unfair for them to just accuse him without taking him to court. It is the court that will decide whether he is guilty or not.”
The son, who is a third-year student at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), recently caused a commotion after ‘disappeared’ from Dar es Salaam on March 6.
Reports of his ‘disappearance’, which is under investigation, went viral on social media, leading to claims that he was kidnapped by unknown people. However, he was on the next day found alive in Iringa Region. Police in Iringa transferred him to Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police where he is still being held. According to Dar es Salaam police, Mr Nondo faked his own abduction. This claim was made recently by Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Lazaro Mambosasa.
Meanwhile, the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRD-Coalition) and TSNP yesterday submitted a request to the High Court, asking the Supreme Court to direct police to immediate take the case to court for further legal action. Addressing a press conference yesterday, THRDC coordinator Onesmo Olengurumwa explained that they submitted the request (Mis Crim App No.49 2018) on March 17, citing that until yesterday, the court was yet to respond.
“A decision to seek for legal assistance was due to the fact that police are still holding Mr Nondo without issuing any details of when they will take the case to court,” he said. For his part, TSNP secretary Joseph Malekela said the decision to cooperate with the lawyers came after police barred them from accessing any information on the whereabout of their chairman.
