Donald Lukele
Former Ubungo Municipal Mayor Boniface Jacob (42) and his co-accused Godlisten Malisa (38) denied in court that they were arrested by the police or searched at the Central Police Station.
Jacob and Malisa, an Environmental Health Officer and resident of Moshi in the Kilimanjaro region, denied these claims yesterday before Senior Resident Magistrate Ushindi Swalo after being read the preliminary statement by Senior State Attorney Job Mrema at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam.
Read More:Jacob and Malisa’s Court Case Adjourned Again
The accused, in a case involving the publication of false information on the social media platform X, accepted their personal details but denied other information regarding their arrest, interrogation, court appearance, and possession of items such as phones.
While reading the statement, Mrema claimed that Jacob, the first defendant, was found with three phones, three different SIM cards, and a laptop after being searched by police officers. He claimed that Malisa, the second defendant, was found with two phones and one SIM card after being searched.
It was alleged that on March 19, 2024, Jacob, while in the United Republic of Tanzania, published false information on the social media platform X under the account name Boniface Jacob @ExmayorUbungo with a headline reading ‘Killings in Arusha,’ via a laptop.
The information allegedly stated, “Our fellow citizen and former tourist vehicle driver Omary Msamo has been killed by police officers in Karatu district, Arusha region.”
“Omary Msamo was killed after being stopped and severely beaten, leading to his death, by traffic police after being accused of driving under the influence,” he said.
Mrema also alleged that on April 22, 2024, Jacob, while in the United Republic of Tanzania, published information on the social media platform X stating ‘Licensed to kill have killed again.’
He allegedly wrote, “Our youth Rajabu Mlanga Mushi, also known as Babu G, was found at Kilwa Road Hospital, having been killed. Imagine, we reported to the police about our missing youth, and surprisingly, the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police were also helping us search for him.
“Every day, the police claimed they had no information or leads about our youth and urged us to be patient as they continued the search. Yesterday, the youth’s relatives had a hunch after a tip-off to go check the morgue at the Police Hospital on Kilwa Road.”
It was also alleged that on April 22, 2024, Malisa, while in the United Republic of Tanzania, published false information on his Instagram account under the name Malisagj.
Some of the words he is accused of publishing include: “On April 13, the former Mayor of Ubungo Municipality @exmayor_bonifacejacob reported that his relative, Robert Mushi, also known as Babu G, who had gone missing in early April 2024, was arrested by people claiming to be police officers in the Kariakoo area and had not been seen since,” the report stated.
Mrema also claimed that the investigation showed that the defendants committed the offenses mentioned in the charge sheet, leading to the filing of the case.
After being read the statement, the defendants accepted their personal details but denied other information. Before the statement was read, the prosecution requested to amend the charge sheet, which was read by State Attorney Neema Mushi.
The case was adjourned to August 29, 2024, for the commencement of the prosecution’s witnesses’ testimony. The defendants are represented by lawyers Peter Kibatala, Dickson Mataka, and Josephat Msanga.
Just a smiling visitor here to share the love (:, btw outstanding style. “Justice is always violent to the party offending, for every man is innocent in his own eyes.” by Daniel Defoe.