According to him, the tabloid did not bother to seek his side of the story although it reported that he could not be reached by his mobile phone.
Dodoma. The Constitutional and Legal Affairs minister, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, threatened to sue a weekly Kiswahili tabloid yesterday over its recent publication linking him to Sh2 billion fraud allegations.
On June 13, 2016, Dira ya Mtanzania published on its front page an article entitled: “Mwakyembe atuhumiwa kutapeli bilioni 2...kupandishwa mahakamani wakati wowote (Mwakyembe accused of Sh2 billion fraud... to be arraigned at any time.” Similarly, in its June 20, 2016 issue, the tabloid wrote: “Utapeli wa Mwakyembe wamwagwa hadharani (Mwakyembe’s fraud exposed).” In the article, the tabloid linked Dr Mwakyembe to the same allegations of defrauding Sh2 billion via a company known as Power Pool Tanzania. But Dr Mwakyembe said yesterday the allegations levelled against him were baseless, malicious and meant to taint his name.
“I have consulted my lawyer and we will sue the tabloid in the High Court of Tanzania...we are also looking at the effects, especially why some serious TV stations like ITV and Star TV decided to read such an article in their press reviews,” he told journalists yesterday.
According to him, the tabloid did not bother to seek his side of the story although it reported that he could not be reached by his mobile phone. “We will need Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority to authenticate that the paper really did try to phone my number,” he said.
Dr Mwakyembe alleges that there could be someone behind the allegations and insisted that there would be no turning back in the legal battle even if it meant reaching as far as the Court of Appeal.
He could not divulge to the amount of compensation that he would seek in the defamation case against the tabloid, noting however that it discouraging because it came at a time his ministry was working hard to come up with the Corruption and Economic Crimes Court in the next financial year.
