Kabwe, Lissu differ on terms of Mbowe's release

Dar es Salaam. A disagreement ensued yesterday between ACT-Wazalendo leader Zitto Kabwe and Chadema’s top leaders, barely a day after the former requested President Samia Suluhu Hassan to intervene to have the main opposition leader, Mr Freeman Mbowe released from remand prison, where he has been since last July, following the unbailable terrorism case against him.

On Wednesday, Mr Kabwe - who also doubles as the Tanzania Centre for Democracy (TCD) chairman - asked President Hassan to help in the process of releasing Mr Mbowe, during a stakeholder’s conference in Dodoma to discuss the state of multiparty democracy in the country.

Mr Kabwe requested President Hassan to look into Mr Mbowe’s case in accordance with the laws of the land, since the country has a culture of ending political crises - and that this would not be the first time.

“When you became a minister for the first time in Zanzibar, you were met with a huge crisis and had to tour with former President Jakaya Kikwete to different nations with a view to ending the 2011 crisis,” Kabwe said.

According to him, all criminal cases were dropped with the aim of building unity in Zanzibar.

However, in response to Mr Kabwe’s plea, Chadema’s deputy chairman Tundu Lissu responded in a Twitter’s Club House meeting that he was disappointed by Mr Kabwe’s decision to attend the meeting when he thought they had agreed in one of the Club House meetings in October not to attend any meetings organised by either political party registrar Francis Mtungi or IGP Simon Sirro until the government put up an enabling environment for either dialogue or Mr Mbowe is released.

“We cannot agree to go to dialogue with the government when they have not fulfilled the basic minimum of what we have been requesting for Zanzibar or Tanzania Mainland,” he said.

He stressed he considers himself a friend of Mr Kabwe and it was unfortunate that they have had their differences and quarrels.

“Despite our quarrels we have never stopped being friends and even today it will not make us enemies, but it should be known that his decision has disappointed me,” he said. Another Chadema leader, Godbless Lema, said his major problem was how the meeting was called and how President Hassan responded to the requests that were made by the TCD leader to allow political meetings and public rallies.

“We have to be careful on how we handle these things. We might be happy with small tokens and forget the bigger picture that will affect our future,” he said.

He said they appreciate anybody including Mr Kabwe’s efforts to help Mbowe’s case, but at the end of the day it was all about their principles that they were not ready to compromise.

“In the meeting, Mr Mbowe was convicted again in front of political leaders including religious leaders and it is not a good thing even if we are looking for reconciliation. We must adhere to principles,” he said.

Responding, Mr Kabwe said he had seen different reactions from different members and followers of Chadema following his request to have Mr Mbowe released.

“You all heard my speech, there is nowhere I talked about pardoning Mr Mbowe, maybe people were confused by the President’s response because she talked about an apology,” he said.

According to him, he has no authority to seek Mr Mbowe’s pardon because he is neither Mbowe’s son, nor member of Chadema and therefore he was very conscious of how he handled the matter.

He stressed that his speech was spinned by people aiming to misquote him.

According to him, he made a request which was politically correct and gave an example of how he had made a reference to Zanzibar. Stressing that what he said during the conference is not different from what has been said in the past, maybe that he used a humble voice.

Explaining about a summit organized by TCD which political parties attended, he said Chadema’s secretary general, John Mnyika, attended, CCM Philip Mangula, NCCR James Mbatia, and CUF Ibrahim Lipumba.

He said in the meeting, Mnyika requested that the issue of Mbowe and ban of political parties be included in the agenda. “He explained to the meeting how Mbowe’s case was more political than criminal and promised to issue some documents to that effect which he did,” he said.

Mr Kabwe said that the meeting called on Mr Mangula to take up Mbowe’s issue to the President and request that it be dropped because it was not in the public interest.

According to him, December 9 he dropped the invitation to attend the Independence celebrations and went to Ukonga to visit Mbowe where he briefed him about their meeting and how they had requested Mangula to take up the matter to the President.

“Mbowe asked me just two things, are you able to handle this issue and what was Mangula’s response to their request, “he said.