Eight to serve life jail terms for storming, setting police station on fire
What you need to know:
- Reading the judgment, Principal Resident Magistrate Thomas Simba said the act was intolerable and he had no reason of having mercy to the convicts because they threatened peace and security.
Dar es Salaam. The Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court on Friday, February 22, 2019 sentenced eight people to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of setting ablaze Bunju A Police Station in Dar es Salaam in 2015.
According to the judgment issued today, 10 other suspects were freed by the court.
Earlier, the court freed 17 out of 35 accused of the incident and remained with 18 people.
Eight of them have been convicted and 10 others regained their freedom.
The accused were facing six charges including setting the police station ablaze on July 10, 2015.
Reading the judgment, Principal Resident Magistrate Thomas Simba said: "The act is intolerable and I have no reason of having mercy to them because their act threatened peace and security.”
The judgment was received with mixed feelings by relatives who attended the court.
While some relatives received the judgment with shock and collapsed, those of the freed accused were overwhelmed with joy.
In 2015, residents in Bunju A stormed the police station after primary school pupil Radhia Omary was killed in a road accident.
Earlier, they pressed for law enforcers and the Tanzania National Roads Agency to put bumps at the road close to the school to reduce accidents.
