Tanzania: Minister suspends six senior police officers

BY GADIOSA LAMTEY.

Home Affairs minister Dr Emmanuel Nchimbi yesterday suspended six senior police officers, among them an assistant commissioner, in connection with their suspected involvement in various offences.

The offences include corruption, suspicious handling of exhibits, fabrication of cases against innocent persons and conspiracy to engage in illegal mining. The suspensions take immediate effect.

He named the police officers as Elias Mwita, Jacob Kiango, Charles Kinyongo, Peter Mtangi and Paul Mng’ong’o,  all with the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), saying all stand suspended indefinitely.

The sixth is Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) Renatus Chalamila, who has been suspended for one month.

The minister also directed Inspector General of Police Said Mwema to immediately file cases in the Police Court against the five SSPs for alleged involvement in drug business, conspiracy and fabrication of cases.

He said he has sent a letter to President Jakaya Kikwete asking him to take legal action against SACP Chalamila because, as a minister, he has no mandate to take any further action against officers of that rank and above.

According to the laws governing the police force, there are ranks in respect of which a minister cannot direct the IGP to take action, he noted.

“Thus, I only have the jurisdiction to suspend SACP Chalamila for one month, but any further action will have to come from the President,” he said.

Dr Nchimbi said Mwita, Kiango and Kinyongo were involved in the presentation of false exhibits to the Chief Government Chemist.

He elaborated that in March last year junior police officers at Tunduma border post in Mbeya Region seized 1.9 kgs of cocaine, which they handed over to the three officers. Mwita was then Mbeya Regional Crime Officer with Kiango as his immediate assistant, while Kinyongo was head of the Field Force Unit in the region.

According to the minister, the drug exhibits were handed over to them for onward relaying to the office of the Chief Government Chemist for expert tests – but the results showed that the samples were sugar and salt and not cocaine.

“Following the unveiling of the Chief Government Chemist’s report, a team was formed to investigate the matter and it was discovered that what were taken for expert tests was not the drugs seized by the junior officers,” he said, adding that such odd acts demoralise junior police and sabotage the war on trade in illicit drugs.

Dr Nchimbi further explained that Mtangi has been suspended on account of the use of abusive language insults and the concoction of non-bailable cases against accused persons while serving as Kagera Regional Crimes Officer.

According to the probe team, he said, Mtangi is alleged to have received a bribe from a Kagera Region resident who owned 4,000 acres of undeveloped land so that a case could be filed against 14 residents unfairly alleged to have invaded the area.

Mtangi is alleged to have fabricated the case against the 14 residents, describing them as gangsters for a long time on the police list of “wanted persons”.

The Director for Public Persecutions scrapped the case after realising that it was fabricated although the accused were held in custody until the (Home Affairs) minister ordered them to be released, said Dr Nchimbi.

He added that SACP Chalamila has been suspended for demanding and receiving money from youths whom he allegedly promised in the (police) force and that Mng’ong’o had allegedly been party to a conspiracy to engage in illegal mining in the Serengeti National Park.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN (11/03/2013): http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=52181