Who paid Peter Msigwa’s Sh 40 million fine?
Dar es Salaam. Confusion arose yesterday after it was widely claimed that State House had paid Sh38 million of the Sh40 million fine which was imposed on oppostion politician Peter Msigwa.
At the same time, the opposition political party Chadema maintained that it had paid the entire Sh40 million which the Kisutu Resident Magistrates’ Court had fined the Iringa Urban MP a day earlier.
Yesterday, the Director of Presidential Communications, Mr Gerson Msigwa, accompanied the Reverend Msigwa’s uncle, Mr Benert Msigwa, to the Kisutu Court to obtain a control number so that he could deposit the fine in the relevant account.
Mr Msigwa said the President decided to pay the fine on behalf of Rev Msigwa because the family was able to raise only Sh2 million out of the Sh40 million fine which Mr Msigwa was supposed to pay to be released.
A video of the Director of Presidential Communications and Msigwa in which he explained why the president decided to donate Sh38 million for Mr Msigwa went viral yesterday.
“Being their relative, the president decided to contribute Sh38 million when the family was able to raise only Sh2 million after Rev Msigwa - along with seven other Chadema leaders - were convicted by the Kisutu Resident Magistrates’ Court to pay fines totaling Sh320 million,” said Mr Msigwa.
However, Chadema leaders insisted that the party paid Sh40 million so that Mr Msigwa could be released from prison. The Chadema leaders posted a CRDB Bank receipt on social media insisting that they were the ones who actually paid the entire Sh40 million fine to the court.
“We paid the money early this morning - and aren’t aware that the President paid Sh38 million for Rev Msigwa’s release… May be you should ask them to clarify,” said Mr Mrema. Rev Msigwa, Chadema Secretary General Mr John Mnyika and the party’s deputy secretary general (Isles) Mr Salum Mwalimu walked out of the prison as freemen after the party paid their fines.
Yesterday morning, the Chadema Women Wing’s chairperson, Ms Halima Mdee - who is also Kawe MP - the Bunda Urban MP, Ms Ester Bulaya, and Ms Esther Matiko (Tariame Urban MP) were set free after paying the fines.
The party’s national chairman, Mr Freeman Mbowe, and the Tarime Rural MP, Mr John Heche, spent last night behind bars after they failed to pay their fines.
Former Chadema secretary general Vincent Mashinji was set free on Wednesday after CCM - the party he had rejoined after ditching Chadema recently - paid Sh30 million fine.
The eight Chadema leaders and Dr Mashinji were found guilty of 12 out of 13 counts they were charged with.
This was after Resident Magistrate Thomas Simba had found that the prosecution had found them guilty on nine counts out of the 13 counts which they were charged with: counts 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. He, however, ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove their case in counts 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The accused were charged with conspiracy to commit offences, unlawful assembly, rioting, raising discontent and ill-will for unlawful purposes, sedition and inciting the commission of offences.
The charges were alleged to have been committed between February 1 and 16, 2018 in Dar es Salaam. In one of the incidents, a National Institute of Transport student, Ms Akwilina Akwiline was killed by a stray bullet during a Chadema rally in February 2018.
