Roma Mkatoliki says he was tortured by armed abductors

Dar es Salaam. Rapper Ibrahim Mussa a.k.a. Roma Mkatoliki who was allegedly kidnapped along with three other Bongo Flava artistes, yesterday shade some light on what happened since their ordeal started on Wednesday evening.

Roma, who was accompanied by the three other artistes and the minister of Information, Culture Sports and Arts, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, said the kidnappers tortured them before they let them free on Friday night.

Roma said that they don’t know what the motive behind the kidnapping was. “The armed kidnappers arrived at the studio at around 5pm and ordered us to get into a waiting vehicle and then went on to cover our faces and took us to an unknown destination,” said Roma.

The artiste said the kidnappers subjected them to torture while questioning them. However, he avoided divulging details, saying doing that could interfere ongoing investigations. “They tortured us severely, and this had traumatised us even after our release...Moni has been having nightmares and he often screams at night,” he added.

Roma said the kidnappers dumped them on the shores of the Indian Ocean on Friday night. “We walked for a while and we found ourselves at Tegeta Uninuo…from there we hired two bodabodas that took us to my house where we had a change of clothes before we headed to Oysterbay Police Station,” said Roma.

Roma refuted reports, which have been circulating on social media, that they staged the kidnapping. He said there are some people, who have been suggeting they were paid $5,000 to cook up a kidnap.

“We’re saddened by the messages and discussions doing the rounds in the social media, to the effect that we were paid for political publicity, how we can risk our lives like that?” he queried.

For his part, Information minister Mwakyembe said he is saddened by what happened and urged that any incident that touches on his ministry should be reported to him immediately.

“I will strive to ensure that before I present the budget for my ministry in the Parliament the investigation is complete so that measures are taken against the culprits,” he explained.

The hip-hop star and his three colleagues who went missing last Wednesday evening after a suspected abduction were found alive in undisclosed locations and circumstances on Saturday.

The artistes were taken to Mwananyamala Hospital after they recorded a statement at Oysterbay police station. Roma and his colleagues were picked up by unidentified people at Tongwe Studios.