Mwangosi’s case takes a new twist as LHRC lodges complaints to UN and ICC bodies

LEGAL Human Rights Centre (LHRC) has lodged two major complaints over human rights violations which have been committed by the government of Tanzania to UN-Special Rapporteur on judicial killings and to the Director of Criminal Investigations at the International Criminal Court (ICC) respectively in which Mwangosi’s case is taken as an example. The aim of the LHRC is to seek for their intervention over the continued killings of the innocent people which have been taking place in the country for unknown reasons, the Executive Secretary of the LHRC Helen Kijo-Bisimba told a press conference recently in Dar es Salaam. Speaking rather in a pensive mood, Ms Helen was confident enough when she confirmed to journalists that, her office had sent the two reports of complaints to these two different international judicial organizations on 28th September 2012. The sent reports has requested the concerned bodies to react as quickly as possible in the investigations over the incriminating issues of killings which are taking place now and then in Tanzania, and if possible should they take legal actions against the government. She said LHRC has come up with such a decision after going through the recently three probing reports of killings of a Channel ten journalist, Daudi Mwangosi who was killed by the police in a cold blood while on duty at Nyololo village in Mufindi District, Iringa Region over one month ago. She noted that out of the three probing reports presented, her office is strongly objecting the probing committee formed by the Minister for Home Affairs Dr. Emmanuel Nchimbi and led by Judge Steven Ihema, saying that it has spoken widely in favour of the government and that it couldn’t have presented real facts to defend the argument contained in a report which she says is full of lies. In view of this, however, after noticing that as the government favors the police who were seen on a TV screen accomplishing their task of killing a journalist, then her centre no longer trust the report and together with this, have lodged a complaint report to UN special reppoprteur on judicial killings as well as to the Director of Criminal Investigation at ICC Court in Hague-Holand for their intervention.

The Executive Secretary of the Tanzania's Legal Human Right Centre, Dr. Hellen Kijo-Bisimba

In her introductory remarks on behalf of the LHRC centre, Ms. Helen has also criticized the government’s reports saying that it fell short of providing some important details and instead it aims at protecting killers and the government officials in connection with the issue as a whole. “This is the habit which the government has been maintaining of defending its officials whom it has seen to have committed crimes and seeks for the opportunity to exonerate them from blame” she said adding that, her centre was not so surprised to have seen their report which it had indicated openly the desire to protect the offenders as our government has yet for long put a system of investigating themselves and or hold them accountable. Elaborating on the report of the probing team led by Judge Stevem Ihema, she said that, the government has affirmed its stance before the public that it had no intention of investigating the killings done by the police, and instead it had the intention of cleaning the killers and defending some police officers associated with the incident.  “If someone reads Dr. Nchimbi’s probing committee report in details, might see how it has been seeking for falsehood in order to show how CHADEMA leaders were at fault for convening a meeting, and yet were already told to hold on to pave for the way of the national census day which had been extended an aspect which id wrong” she said. Clarifying a point about what the Commission for Human Rights did in regard to CHADEMA and census, she said that, already the Iringa Regional Police Commander, Michael Kamuhanda has interfered with the principles of good governance as already his junior OCD of the Mufindi district had already given a green light to CHADEMA party officials to go on with the meeting. Therefore, due to Dr. Nchimbi’s probing committee which has proved failure to show some relevant facts on the findings and moreover looks so different, this shows bad attitude the ministry of home affairs has of protecting the malpractice of some police officers who are fond if killing innocent civilians, hence it shows violation of human rights. She said the report released by the investigation team formed by the minister aimed at clearing the image of the police force in the country and to defend the ongoing atrocities committed by the force in the country.