Tanzanian police officer accused of orchestrating landmark gang rape, sexual assault in court today
What you need to know:
- The case, filed by Paul Kisabo at the Dodoma Resident Magistrate's Court, could not be heard on August 23, 2024, due to the officer's failure to appear in court.
Dodoma. The case against Fatma Kigondo, an officer accused of orchestrating a gang rape and sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl from Yombo Dovya, Dar es Salaam, is scheduled to be heard in court today, Thursday, September 5, 2024.
The case, filed by Paul Kisabo at the Dodoma Resident Magistrate's Court, could not be heard on August 23, 2024, due to the officer's failure to appear in court.
The decision to issue another summons was made by Dodoma Resident Magistrate Francis Kishenyi, who is handling case number 23627 of 2024.
Earlier, Kisabo’s lawyer, Peter Madeleka, requested the court to take further action to apprehend the officer by issuing an arrest warrant, as the officer had received court summons on August 22, 2024, but failed to appear.
"Since this is a criminal offense and those who were supposed to fulfill their duties did not do so, that is why we are here. We request the court to issue a warrant for the defendant's arrest," Madeleka said.
He requested the court to apply section 130 of the Criminal Procedure Act to arrest the officer, as their complaints fall under criminal offenses.
However, Magistrate Kishenyi said this provision does not mandate the court to issue an arrest warrant but also allows for the issuance of a summons.
"I will issue another summons to confirm if the summons we issued August 22, 2024 has reached him," he said.
The officer is accused in connection with the incident involving youths, including two police officers, who face charges of gang-rape and sexual assault of the 17-year-old girl from Yombo, Dar es Salaam.
Already, four suspects have been charged with gang-rape and sexual assault of the girl, and the case is being heard at the Dodoma Resident Magistrate's Court before Chief Magistrate Zabibu Mpangule.
The accused in case number 23476 of 2024 are Tanzania People's Defense Force (TPDF) officer MT 140105 Clinton Damas, known as Nyundo, Prisons officer C1693 Praygod Mushi, Nickson Jackson, known as Machuche, and Amin Lema, known as Kindamba.
