(MISA/IFEX) – On 23 May 2000, a Magistrate’s court ruled that a prima facie case had been established against a former opposition member of parliament, Stephan Wassira, for allegedly attacking the managing editor of “Hoja” newspaper, Yasin Rwiza Sadiki, in August 1999. The ruling means Wassira will now face criminal charges of assault and threatening […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 23 May 2000, a Magistrate’s court ruled that a prima facie case had been established against a former opposition member of parliament, Stephan Wassira, for allegedly attacking the managing editor of “Hoja” newspaper, Yasin Rwiza Sadiki, in August 1999. The ruling means Wassira will now face criminal charges of assault and threatening to kill Sadiki.
In a brief ruling, Kisutu Principle Resident Magistrate Michael Luguru, said the prosecution, through its two witnesses, had established a prima facie case against Wassira. “Having gone through the evidence tendered by the prosecution witnesses, I have realised that you have a case to answer,” Luguru told Wassira, who attended the court session without his lawyer. The magistrate mentioned the offences as causing actual bodily harm, contrary to Section 241 of the Penal Code, and threatening with violence, contrary to Section 89 (2) (a) of the Penal Code. The date for the hearing of the case was set for 27 July.
Earlier, Wassira’s lawyer sought to have the case dropped against his client. He argued that the charges against the accused were brought vexatiously, frivolously and in the abuse of the process of the court, and that the evidence tendered had a lot of contradictions that became of very little probative value. The lawyer also sought to get the court to order Sadiki to pay Tsh800,000 (US$1,000) as compensation to his client for trouble and expenses in hiring legal counsel.
The case against Wassira stemmed from an incident on 6 August 1999, when Wassira allegedly beat Sadiki at a function in Dar-es-Salaam. Wassira, a former minister of agriculture and co-operatives and regional commissioner during the late President Nyerere’s administration, reportedly said he was punishing Sadiki for reporting that he was a friend of another politician, Augustine Mrema. Later, Wassira said he had actually been irked by the Swahili term “swahiba”, which means close ally, used in the report by the newspaper. Wassira said he interpreted it to mean “gay”, and hence wanted an explanation from the editor.
