By Peter Saramba
The Citizen Correspondent
Arusha. The Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) secretary general, Dr Willibrod Slaa, was yesterday arraigned before  the Arusha Resident Magistrate’s Court with 26 other party  leaders and members, facing three charges.

Alongside Dr Slaa, who was party presidential candidate in last year’s general election, were Singida East MP and Chadema director for justice and legal affairs, Mr Tundu Lissu,  and other members.They are accused of staging  an illegal assembly and rejecting to heed police orders to disperse. Dr Slaa is facing a third charge of inciting the public.

While Dr Slaa, Mr Lissu and other members of the party were granted bail, the police force here has ordered the Chadema national chairman, Mr Freeman Mbowe, to present himself  to the law enforcement organ,  which wants to quiz him in connection with the  alleged illegal assembly. Police maintain that Mr Mbowe was among  the people who sneaked out of  NMC Unga Limited grounds where the Chadema supporters  had gathered and spent the night on Monday.

On the day, Chadema conducted a rally at the grounds at the end of which the leaders announced a seven day vigil to protest the court’s  refusal to grant bail to Arusha MP, Mr Godbless Lema, who has been remanded pending charges against him for organising unlawful demonstrations.

The acting Arusha Regional Police Commander, Mr Akili Mpwapwa, told reporters that the Chadema zealots were arrested at dawn yesterday after defying police orders to disperse from NMC grounds where they had camped.
Mr Mpwapwa said the police were forced to intervene and break the vigil because it was not part of the agreement between the political party and the law enforcement organ. The two sides had agreed that Chadema should hold a rally at the grounds from 2 to 6pm.

He said when Police moved in at NMC grounds, they found Dr Slaa in a vehicle with a pistol make Walther with numbers T2CAR 61074-327963, with seven rounds of ammunition.

Another person, Daniel Zedekia Ongong’o, was also found with a Pietro Berreta  pistol with number H.447577 Cat 5802 and ten bullets. He said they were still investigating to establish if the two owned  the guns legally.
“Mr Lissu surrendered himself after learning that Dr Slaa and other people have been arrested. Dr Slaa was found in the vehicle parked at the grounds and he did not resist arrest,” he said.

Mr Mpwapwa named other people who were arrested during the operation as David Godfrey, Ally Hussein, Frank Chami, Stella Mushi, Francis Samwel, Paul Meena, Beatrice John, Matei Thobias, Davies Sedeka, Wilson Andrew, Abubakari Aireme, Peter Davis, Proches Blacy, John Frednand, Stephen Mathayo, Mohamed Mhoji, Titus Urio, Nelson Kimaro and Jimmy Everist.

“We are still looking for Mr Mbowe for integration and other legal procedures. I would like to advice him to turn himself in as he is respected as a public leader,” he said, pointing out that short of that,  police would arrest him.
Apart from being Chadema chairman, Mr Mbowe is also  the  Member of Parliament for Hai and leader of Official Opposition in  Parliament.

Later, Dr Slaa, Mr Lissu and 25 other Chadema members appeared before the court to answer the three charges. They were brought at the court at around 2pm under tight security and the case was called at around 3pm.

Public Prosecutor, Mr Haruna Matagane, said all suspects were charged under two offences — illegal assembly and refusal to heed police orders. Elaborating, he told the court that on the night of November  7 and 8, the group  assembled at Unga Limited grounds without a permit. They were asked by SSP Peter Mvulla to disperse, but they defied the directive. Mr Matagane told Resident Magistrate Devota Kamuzora who presided over the case that Dr Slaa faced  an extra charge of uttering words which incited the public.

Mr Matagane quoted Dr Slaa to have said: “We allow the police some time until 5pm to send a plane to take Arusha Officer Commanding District Zuberi Mwombeji to IGP Said Mwema so that he can be shifted elsewhere.”

The Prosecutor also said Dr Slaa was heard inciting the public to demonstrate if Lema was not removed from Kisongo remand prison by 5pm. All the suspects denied the charges and their lawyers, Method Kimomogoro and Arbert Msando,  asked the court to grant them bail because all the charges were bailable.

Additional reporting by Mussa Juma 

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