TANZANIA: DPP drops charges against smugglers

By The Citizen Reporter, Moshi. 

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has dropped charges against three, out of six accused in a case of smuggling live wild animals outside the country. The accused were facing charges of smuggling live animals, including a giraffe, worth $113,715 (Sh170.5million), to Doha in Qatar on November 26, 2010 through the Kilimanjaro International Airport (Kia).

The application to drop the charges was submitted before Moshi resident magistrate Simon Kobelo by a panel of three state attorneys, Araffa Msafiri, Evetha Mushi and Pius Hilla.

The accused are: Jane Mbogo, a Kenyan working with Equity Aviation Services and two security officers with the Kilimanjaro Airport Development Authority (Kadco), Veronica Benno and Locken Kimaro.

When dropping the charges, the magistrate stated that Section 91 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Act and its revised edition of 2002 provided for re-arrest of the accused, if it was deemed necessary. Meanwhile, the DPP added on the accused list another person identified as Michael Mrutu, who is a security officer with Kadco, bringing to four the number of suspects facing the charges. The accused had applied for bail, but the magistrate said the response to the request would be given by the High Court in Moshi on December 4, this year. 

Other accused in the case are: Kamran Ahamed, a Pakistani national, Hawa Mang’unyuka, a director with Osaka Traders and Martin Kimath, a livestock officer with Zoo Sanitary. The accused said they were in a process of hiring defence lawyers.

Following the scandal that hit headlines, the government sacked three senior officials with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism early this year.

Source: The Citizen (22/11/2012): http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/news/4-national-news/27339-dpp-drops-charges-against-smugglers