Assailants hack eight Tanga residents to death

Tanga. The hacking to death of eight people in Tanga yesterday has sparked off new security concern in the region which is increasingly witnessing recurrent incidents of senseless, mysterious killings.

Gun and machete-wielding thugs on Tuesday midnight invaded three houses bordering a forest at Kibatini Hamlet in Mzizima Ward, about 55km from Tanga City and slaughtered the eight men. The incident occurred just slightly over a month after gangsters invaded a bakery in Tanga and killed four people.

Weeks later police killed four armed bandits in an exchange of fire at extensive Amboni Caves, during a fight reminiscent of last year’s alleged Al Shabaab scare.

The caves are also believed to be a hideout for a well-functioning criminal syndicate.

The fact that Monday’s killings occurred at an area which has for the past two months been guarded by Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) personnel and a special police unit, has raised questions over who executed the killings and why.

Killings in Tanga started to attract attention in February last year when a soldier was killed and several police officers injured as security forces mounted a raid to flush out heavily-armed gangsters believed to have been hiding in the Amboni Caves in Karash bush.

The fight that lasted several hours terrified villagers who have frequently linked the assailants with the Al-Shabaab terror group. The police have dismissed the claims.

It is close the Amboni Caves where the three houses that were invaded on Monday are located.

The motive of what has been described as the worst incident of killings to take place in Tanga, is yet to be established.

Tanga Regional Police Commander Leonard Paul was until late evening yesterday leading a manhunt for the assailants who vanished with only biscuits, rice and sugar from the house of a victim who operates a shop.

According to the RPC, the attackers invaded three houses located at the edge of Kibatini Village that borders a forest at midnight yesterday.

The bandits entered the first house and hacked to death Mussa Hussein, 50—the owner of the shop where they stole rice, sugar and biscuits—Mkola Hussein, 40, and Hamisi Issa, 20.

The thugs moved to another house an killed a 70-year-old man, Mikidadi Hassan, and another person identified only as Mahmud who is said to hail from Mombasa, Kenya, before they surrounded the third house and went on to hack Issa Ramadhani and two other young persons, Kadiri and Salum, who were later discovered to be employees of Mkola Hussen.

The murderers then vanished into the nearby forest. Police and villagers were until later looking for them up to the time of filing this story.

“I would not like to reveal more at this stage lest my revelation interferes with the ongoing investigations. This is a very serious incident,” said the RPC.

Villagers around the area which has in two years been subjected to rumours on Al Shaabab militants, said they now live in constant fear.

One of them, who identified himself as Mohamed, wondered: “If the assailants were ordinary robbers, why didn’t they take away cattle which were many at the area. “I think they want to break the peace and instil insecurity in the area,” he said.

The Mzizima Ward Councillor, Mr Frederick Chiluba, said people feeling so insecure that some are thinking of moving to other areas. “These thugs have killed my people,” he said.

Victim’s family speak

The widow of one of the victims, Mkola Hussein, Ms Asha Saidi, said: “I have never seen people committing brutality of this degree in my life. They killed my husband so brutally.”

The mother of six told The Citizen that while sleeping, they heard someone knocking the door and when they inquired, one of the bandits replied, “We are police officers.”

“My husband went with a machete and suddenly one of the bandits told him, “If you’re coming with a machete, we have a gun,” she said tearfully.

According to Ms Saidi, the gangsters asked her husband to take them to Hussein who is his brother and chairman of the helmet. “I secretly followed them and saw them brutally beating Hussein and my husband,” she said.

Another witness, Kea Leonard, 67, said he heard people screaming in pain and when he came out he saw a group of men in black clothes, their faces covered with pieces of black clothes. He said he heard the bandits inquiring about village youths who have been detained by the village authorities.

According to the witness, a week ago, a group of youths, aged between 12 and 16 years, passed through the village, but they soon returned.

He said villagers stopped them to the chairman of the helmet, Issa Hussein, who called the police who soon arrived and picked the youths.

“When we questioned them they said they were from Tanga City while others said they were from Amboni,” said the witness.

Another resident, Khalid Issa, said that following the killings, people at the village now live in fear. “How can we continue staying here? There is no assurance that the murderers will not return,” he said.

Yesterday, Inspector General of Police Ernest Mangu declined to comment on the developments and referred this reporter to Tanga police boss, Leonard Paul.

On being reached, Mr Paul said security and defence organs were conducting investigations to establish the reason for recurrent killings in Tanga.

“I cannot disclose details, this is a serious matter so please be patient as the defence and security organs do their job. We’ll let you know after the investigations are completed,” he said.

Regional Commissioner Martine Shighela visited the scene of the crime and pleaded with the villagers to remain patient as the government worked to bring to the culprits to justice.