Dar es Salaam: TBS official in court over illegal stay

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Tanzania Bureau of Standard (TBS) Principal Legal Officer, Baptister Bitaho (54), a Burundian national, has appeared before a Dar es Salaam court facing three counts, including working in the country without a valid permit.

The other charges comprise unlawful presence in the country, without a valid visa, and making false statement which allowed him to obtain a Tanzanian passport. Before the Kisutu Senior Resident Magistrate, Victoria Nongwa, the accused pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was granted bail on condition that he avails two sureties, who are citizens and will have to sign a bond of 20m/-.

A Prosecutor with the Immigration Department, Mr Novatus Mlay, informed the court that investigations into the matter were yet to be completed. Bitaho requested the court to grant him bail.

It was alleged that on May 19, 2017 at Kinondoni District Immigration Office in the city, the accused being a citizen of the United Republic of Burundi, was found to be unlawfully present in the country.

According to the Prosecutor, Bitaho committed the offence knowing that he was breaching immigration laws. Mr Mlay also alleged that during the same occasion in Kinondoni District, the accused was found engaging in occupation, as Principal Legal Officer for TBS, without a valid work permit.

In the third count, the accused on July 6, 2011 at the Dar es Salaam Immigration Office in Ilala District in the city, being a foreigner made a false statement regarding his personal particulars on the passport application form CT (5)(Ai).

Source: Daily News Tanzania.