Court rejects govt request to arrest ailing Lissu
Singida East Member of Parliament, Mr Tundu Lissu
What you need to know:
- The court orders guarantors to make sure that they report whenever the case comes up for hearing.
- This comes after dismissing a request by the government that the court should issue an arrest warrant against Mr Lissu, who is receiving treatment abroad
Dar es Salaam. Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court has dismissed a request by the persecution side to have Singida East Member of Parliament, Mr Tundu Lissu, arrested after his guarantors told the court that he was still receiving treatment in Belgium.
On February 4, 2019, the court ordered Mr Lissu’s guarantors to appear before the court to reveal the whereabouts of the legislator because the court had no official report.
The guarantors- Ibrahim Ahmed and Robert Katula-who appeared before magistrate Thomas Simba said Mr Lissu was still in Belgium for treatment.
Mr Lissu and three others-Simon Mkina, Jabir Idrisa and Ismail Mehbooh- are accused of writing and publishing incitement information in Mawio newspaper between January 12 and 14 of 2016.
The article, which landed them in trouble is titled: Machafuko yaja Zanzibar (literally, chaos imminent in Zanzibar).
The state attorney, Mr Wankyo Simon, asked the court to issue an arrest order against Mr Lissu, who according to him has been seen travelling around the world holding interviews with international news agencies.
However, on Monday January 25, resident magistrate Simba turned down the request.
“The court can’t issue an arrest warrant for now, but it is important that his guarantors report to the court whenever the case comes up for hearing," he said.
