Court throws out Lissu arrest request

Dar es Salaam. The Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court has dismissed a request by the prosecution 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 receiving treatment.

Mr Lissu and three others: Simon Mkina, Jabir Idrisa and Ismail Mehbooh, are accused of writing and publishing inciting information in Mawio newspaper between January 12 and 14 of 2016.

The article, which landed them in trouble is titled: Machafuko yaja Zanzibar (literally, meaning Chaos Imminent in Zanzibar).

State attorney 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, yesterday 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.

Mr Lissu and his co-accused are facing sedition case in which they are charged with five counts including conspiracy to publish seditious publication, publishing and printing a seditious publication and printing a newspaper without submission of an affidavit.

Meanwhile, Kilombero and Mlimba Constituency MPs on the Chadema ticket, Peter Lijualikali and Suzan Kiwanga, respectively, appeared before the Morogoro Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The two MPs surrendered to Morogoro police station yesterday morning and were taken to Morogoro Resident Magistrate’s Court, where they were included in a case facing seven others.

The court initially freed the MPs and other people who were accused of setting on fire the Sofi Village office in November 2017.

The court set them free due to lack of evidence. However, the case was refiled earlier las week at the same court.