Court sets free 52 Ponda followers

Dar es Salaam. 

The High Court yesterday set free 52 followers of Muslim cleric Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda, who have been serving a one-year jail term.

They were sentenced by the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in March 21, this year, to three years imprisonment after being convicted with conspiracy, unlawful assembly and rioting.

The punishment ran co-currently, resulting to the accused serving only one year in jail.

However, judge Salvatory Bongole set free the prisoners yesterday after being satisfied that the punishment given to them was not correct, according to the offence they stood charged with.

The decision by the High Court followed an appeal filed by the alleged supporters of the secretary general of the Council of Islamic Organisations.

They asked the Court to quash and set aside both conviction and sentence on the ground that the trial magistrate erred on a number of facts in convicting them on three criminal charges and sentencing them to serve a one-year jail term for each count.

In his judgment, the Judge dismissed the conviction and one-year jail term for the first offence of conspiracy.

According to the judge, because the accused have been convicted with unlawful assembly and rioting - which are substantive counts - the offence of conspiracy collapsed automatically.

“You were given two punishments for one offence,” said the judge.

Concerning the remaining two counts of illegal assembly and rioting, the judge ruled that after going through evidence, he was satisfied that the prosecution evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offence.

However, the judge agreed with the defense counsel that the Act which convicted them was not followed in meting the punishment.

The judge elaborated that the followers were charged with disobeying a lawful order given by the Police that prohibited them from rioting.

Source: http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/Court-sets-free-52-Ponda-followers/-/1840392/2041966/-/66lmsj/-/index.html