Police search Mdee’s house after reporting ‘assaulters’
What you need to know:
- The outgoing Kawe Constituency MP went to the police station to report an incident of unknown people who were planning to lease a house close to her home
Dar es Salaam. Under circumstances that have not been made clear, police yesterday embarked upon searching the house of Chadema’s parliamentary candidate for Kawe, Halima Mdee (pictured), who was arrested shortly after reporting people she suspected were out to harm her - and who had rented rooms close to her residence.
Her lawyer, Edson Kilatu, told The Citizen yesterday that Ms Mdee was accused of possessing audio recording equipment contrary to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Act (TCRA).
“Seven police officers and a local government officer spent over an hour searching her house. We have just finished, but they haven’t found anything.
Instead they left with her laptop computer,” he said over the phone.
According to Mr Kilatu, the outgoing Kawe Constituency MP went to the station to report an incident of unknown people who were planning to lease a house close to her home.
“After lodging her report, she was told that law enforcers had reports that she possessed audio recording equipment contrary to stipulations of the laws of the land, hence demanding that they go and search her house,” he said.
Ms Mdee - who doubles as Chadema Women’s Wing chairperson - wrote on Thursday on her Twitter account that there were people trailing her movements at home and that she was planning to report the issue to the police on the following day (yesterday).
‘They increased lease charges for an unfinished storey building close to my home in order to use it for accomplishing their plans!!
‘I spoke on the issue the day before but you haven’t stopped. You have come once again today and top-up lease charges!! There should be no blame!’ reads her tweet in part.
The outspoken politician is seeking re-election in the General Election slated for next Wednesday and she is fiercely battling against CCM’s parliamentary aspirant Bishop Josephat Gwajima.
On October 12, 2020, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in the constituency suspended her election campaign rallies for seven days, allegedly for what the Ethics Committee reported as “violations of Electoral Codes of Ethics.”
The Kinondoni Regional Police Commander, Edward Bukombe, was not available yesterday to comment on the matter.
