Tanzania’s national identity body officer apprehended over Sim card bribery claims
Shinyanga. Police here are holding two people over allegations of asking bribes from people so that they can provide them with National Identification Numbers (NINs) to allow them to register their Sim cards.
Haroun Mushi, who is Shinyanga regional officer with the National Identification Authority (Nida) and Victor Vicent, who is an agent for unidentified telecommunication company, are accused of soliciting Sh30,000 from the needy citizens who seek to prevent their Sim cards from being blocked.
Tanzanians have been rushing to Nida offices so they can get their National Identity Cards or at NINs with which they can register their Sim cards through the biometric system.
Today (January 20, 2020), is the registration deadline after which unregistered Sim cards will be blocked.
“I received complaints [of bribery] when I paid a visit to Nida’s office to assess the pace of issuing NINs to citizens. We laid a trap so that we can catch the perpetrators,” said the District Commissioner for Singida Urban, Ms Jesinta Mboneko.
Police here told reporters that the accused have already been handed over to the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) for further interrogations and actions.
