LHRC disputes Mtwara toll

The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) has disputed police reports that only three people died in last week’s disturbances in Mtwara.

LHRC claims that more than 12 people died in the violence, and has promised to release the names and ages of the victims soon.

However, police swiftly dismissed the assertion, saying the death toll announced by LHRC had been “cooked up”.Mtwara Regional Police Commander Linus Sinzumwa maintained that three people died in the riots.

“I don’t know where that figure came from. What I know is that three people died, as was announced earlier,” he told The Citizen by telephone.

LHRC, in collaboration with the Southern African Human Rights NGO Network (Sahringon), sent a team of legal experts to Mtwara immediately after violence rocked the region.

According to LHRC researcher Patience Mlowe, the team interviewed affected residents, members of civil society organisations and other people, who revealed “shocking” information that 12 people were killed in two days of violence.

A lawyer, Ms Grace Mwangamila, who was part of the LHRC team that visited Mtwara, said there were reports of rape in some areas, but did not give details.

LHRC acting executive director Harold Sungusia said Mtwara residents had lost trust in police, adding that there was a need to overhaul the entire force in the region

He said the government should also send independent mediators to Mtwara as part of efforts to find a lasting solution to recurrent violence in the region.

In another development, the Civic United Front (CUF) said it will on Sunday hold a public rally in Dar es Salaam during which residents of Mtwara and Lindi regions would be told how they would benefit from the gas project.

CUF Deputy Secretary-General (Mainland) Julius Mtatiro said the rally would he held in the city after the government banned political gatherings in Mtwara.

He said the meeting would also be attended by representatives of Mtwara residents and civil society organisations operating in the region.

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