High Court dismisses Kabendera $10 million lawsuit against Vodacom Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. The High Court in Dar es Salaam Sub-registry, has dismissed a case filed by journalist Erick Kabendera against Vodacom Tanzania, a telecom company.

The decision to dismiss the case was made on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 by the court's Deputy Registrar, Livin Lyakinana, on behalf of the Presiding Judge, Salma Maghimbi, following a preliminary objection raised by Vodacom.

In the lawsuit, Kabendera was seeking a court order for the company to compensate him $10 million (equivalent to Sh27 billion), alleging it facilitated his arrest by the police—an incident he describes as abduction which were then followed by charges of economic sabotage in 2019.

In case number 12799/2024, Kabendera claimed that as a result of the incidents surrounding his abduction and prosecution, he has suffered both economic and non-economic damages.

These include social, mental, and emotional pain, loss of enjoyment of life, hindrance to personal development, damage to his societal status, and professional reputation.

As such, he requested the court to order the company to pay him $10 million (Sh27 billion) as compensation for actual losses, plus interest at the court rate from the date of judgment until full payment.

He also sought for compensation for general damages as assessed by the court, case costs, and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

However, Vodacom, through its lawyer Gaspar Nyika, filed a written objection in response to the court's summons on July 9, 2024.

In their defense statement seen by The Citizen, Vodacom denied all allegations made by Kabendera regarding their involvement in his arrest, which he refers to as abduction.

Along with the defense, Vodacom raised a preliminary objection, requesting the court to dismiss the case without hearing it, arguing that it was filed beyond the statutory limitation period.

Judge Maghimbi ordered that the objection be heard through written submissions, and after the hearing, a ruling was scheduled for today.

In the ruling, the judge agreed with Vodacom's objection, stating that the case was unlawfully before the court as it was filed outside the legal time frame.

The judge explained that the law requires such cases to be filed within three years of the occurrence of the alleged event, but Kabendera had filed the case after that period had lapsed.

"Due to these reasons, this court is satisfied that the case is invalid as it was filed outside the time limit. Therefore, this court agrees with the defendant's preliminary objection and dismisses the case," said Deputy Registrar Lyakinana, quoting Judge Maghimbi after reviewing the objection's arguments.

Kabendera was arrested by police at his home in Mbweni on July 29, 2019, he was detained for a week. He appeared in the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court on August 5, 2019, facing charges of economic sabotage.

He was accused of three counts of planning and conspiring with a criminal network.

Additional charges against Kabendera included allegations of evading taxes totaling more than Sh173 million and money laundering. It was alleged that between January 2015 and July 2019, he provided assistance to a criminal gang for financial gain.

Regarding the second charge of tax evasion, he was accused of failing to pay Sh173 million.

In the third charge of money laundering, he was accused of laundering Sh173 million in various locations in Dar es Salaam.

He was alleged to have committed these offenses knowing that the money was obtained through tax evasion and participation in criminal activities.

However, Kabendera was released on February 24, 2020, after negotiating and reaching agreements with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). As part of the agreement, he admitted guilt to some charges.

In mid-2024, five years after his arrest and four years after the conclusion of his economic sabotage case, Kabendera filed this compensation lawsuit against Vodacom.

Account of his abduction

According to the statement of claim in the case, Kabendera recounted events that occurred on his phone before his arrest. He stated that he began experiencing communication disruptions, which rendered his phone service unusable.

He detailed his efforts to determine the cause, including contacting customer service representatives and visiting the company's offices, all to no avail.

The problem started on July 27, 2019, at 9:00 pm when he turned on his phone, which had been turned off since the previous night, only to find it had no network.

He borrowed another phone and called customer service to inquire about why his service was cut off without notice.

A Vodacom customer service representative informed him that his Vodacom phone number (+255767456796) was facing technical challenges requiring him to report to the nearby customer service center in Tegeta.

Kabendera requested an explanation before visiting the service center, but the representative declined, citing the sensitive nature of the issue that necessitated his personal visit.

"However, (Kabendera hesitated to go to the customer service center) due to several incidents of people being abducted or arrested when they visited the customer service center since 2016," the document states, adding:

It goes on to describe that on Monday, July 29, 2019, at 10:00 am, Kabendera called customer service again, complaining that he needed to withdraw money from his phone to buy medicine for his sick mother.

The Vodacom representative who assisted him asked him to wait momentarily while he consulted his manager. He returned a few minutes later, explaining that Kabendera's case was sensitive and beyond their capability to resolve. Instead, they advised him to visit their offices at Mlimani City that morning.

However, at 3:00 pm on the same day, July 29, his phone suddenly started working again. He received a call from a Vodacom representative who asked him (Kabendera) to explain his problem. After about three minutes of explanation, the representative hung up, promising to call back later.

After approximately three minutes, Kabendera received a call from Vodacom customer service, which he answered and found it was a man's voice asking him where he was and that the call was disturbing him, as if it was being recorded.

"Before the call was cut off, our client heard the person who called him whispering that he was at his home and adding that he was close to his home," another part of the statement of claim reads.

According to the statement, these details alarmed Kabendera, prompting him to rush to the rooftop of his house where he observed several unfamiliar cars parked nearby.

Another car, a Toyota Alphard, was parked in front of those cars on the right side of his house. Four people got out, identifying themselves as police officers but refused to provide identification. They handcuffed him and held him in custody for two days.

The document continues, stating that during the interrogation, police officers entered the interrogation room with printouts of transactions from his phone's money account and a list of phone numbers he had called over the past year.

They questioned him about the purpose of each transaction and his relationships with the individuals he had contacted over several years.

Kabendera alleges that the police and government issued conflicting reports to the public regarding his 'abduction,' accusing him of being a non-citizen and defaming President John Magufuli. Ultimately, he was charged in court with money laundering and economic sabotage.