Witness: Weekly tabloid published seditious words

A PROSECUTION witness, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Salum Hamduni, yesterday told the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam that words published in a weekly tabloid, ‘Mawio’ Newspaper, in January last year, over Zanzibar were seditious. 

The witness, who is currently Regional Police Commander (RPC) for Ilala, disclosed that had it not for intervention measures taken at the time such publication would have incited disaffection to citizens against the lawful authority of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.

He was giving evidence in the seditious trial of Singida East Member of Parliament (MP) Tundu Lissu and three others, including two senior journalists with ‘Mawio’ Newspaper, Jabir Yunus and Simon Mkina and a Printer, Ismail Mehbood.

Led by State Attorney Paul Kadushi, the witness told Principal Resident Magistrate Thomas Simba that on January 4, last year, he was working with the police force as Deputy Zonal Crime officer. On that day, he said, he received information with criminal elements and likely to jeopardize peace.

According to him, there were informal assemblies at various places where some newspapers are sold in the city of Dar es Salaam. Such gatherings, the witness went on, were discussing the outcome of Zanzibar following a story in ‘Mawio’ Newspaper dated January 14-20, 2016.

“I informed the Zonal Crime Officer over the matter and the police headquarters where they said a similar situation had happened in Zanzibar. I inquired about the publication of the newspapers to see whether there were any seditious elements,” he testified.

The witness told the court that after getting hold of the newspaper, he noticed that it carried a heading, titled “Machafuko yaja Zanzibar.” Upon going through the publication, he said, the contents had seditious elements that were likely to promote ill feelings of citizens against the government.

ACP Hamduni testified that he decided to initiate investigations onto the matter to see whether there were any criminal elements committed therein by opening a file and handed the assignment to other senior officers, including Assistant Superintendent of Police James and Assistant Inspector of Police Nicholaus.

He concluded his evidence in chief that he directed such police officers subordinate to him to continue with thorough investigations and later hand over the file to the office of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for further actions, including drawing of charges and possible prosecution of suspected offenders.

Cross-examined by advocate Peter Kibatala, for the accused person, the witness admitted that he had no statistics showing the circulation of the newspaper both in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar and that nothing happened on the aftermath of the publication because the situation was contained.

The witness also admitted that the highly disputed publication is an interview between the writer, Jabir Yunus and Tundu Lissu, who is well known lawyer and a lawmaker with the opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema).

He also responded during the cross-examination session that he was not sure whether the contents of the publication show that Lissu was beseeching President John Magufuli to intervene, what is described as crisis in Zanzibar to avoid what the advocate termed as bloodshed.