Minister removed from office as torture claim goes viral

Dar es Salaam.  The deputy minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Ms Pauline Gekul, has been implicated in serious claims of human rights breaches involving the facilitation of torture and mistreatment of one of her employees, Mr Hashim Philemon.

The Babati Urban Member of Parliament (MP), who also owns Paleii Lake View Garden, is named in a video clip that went viral on social media yesterday.

Mr Philemon is shown in a video clip detailing his trauma, which includes a succession of harassment and torture at the hands of the politician.

After the video went viral, President Samia Suluhu Hassan removed Ms Gekul from her position as deputy minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, but no reason was offered.

Ms Gekul’s personal secretary, Hussein Abrima, informed The Citizen yesterday that the matter has been turned over to the police, who have opened an investigation.

Mr Philemon, on the other hand, claims the lawmaker gave orders that resulted in him and another co-accused-Michael being severely beaten.

The directions were given after the pair denied the claims of being involved in an effort to poison the politician.

“All this happened on November 11, 2023, the day I was summoned to one of the hotel rooms, famously known as the VIP. On that day, Ms Gekul was accompanied by her personal secretary and another person who isn’t familiar to me,” he says in a video clip.

“After entering the room, I noticed another young man, whose name I later learned was Michael. Mr Michael, who knelt, was facing allegations similar to mine. However, even before I knew what had gone wrong, I was told to kneel alongside Mr Michael,” he maintains.

The lawmaker, according to Mr Philemon, accused him of being employed in the attempt to cause food poisoning, but he vehemently denied the allegations as baseless.

He claims that he didn’t even communicate with his former employer, who is charged with giving orders that could have caused food poisoning.

Mr Philemon claims that after having his phone confiscated, it was searched to see if there was any important information related to the incident, but nothing material was discovered.

“She began beating both of us (Hashimu and Michael). Then she directed the people who accompanied her to insert bottles in our anuses,” says Philemon, noting that was despite maintaining innocence on the matter.

According to Philemon, the lawmaker produced a revolver (pistol), threatening to kill them and dump their bodies on a river.

He reveals that communication was made to police officers who arrived at the hotel and took the duo to a station, where they were beaten for several hours.

Mr Philemon says the two were taken outside a cell the next morning for grilling, where they maintained their position about the levelled charges.

“I communicated with my father, who arrived at the police station and bailed me out. The hotel manager called me after some days in order to collect my clothes as well as a mobile phone gadget,” he says.

“Remembering the ordeal I was passing through, I asked a boda boda motorist to collect my belongings for me,” he adds.

However, Mr Abrima said they released a statement clarifying the incident earlier yesterday, but they decided to withdraw from the public domain after consultations.

“Those who shared the document on WhatsApp platforms are the ones who still have the statement. We have decided to leave this matter in the hands of the police, who have commenced an investigation,” he said.

The MP’s office confirms having seen a video clip circulating on social media implicating Ms Gekul with involvement in different incidents, which it describes as false.

“These are methods opted by accused persons to shift people’s attention away from the main agenda of charges facing them. However, the MP’s office believes that police will continue investigating the matter in order to unveil the truth,” reads part of the statement.

In the clarification statement, Mr Philemon was referred to as a Paleii Lake View Garden employee who was recruited after quitting his job at Keni Park, located at Himiti Village.

Mr Michael, who was also seeking a job at Paleii Lake View Garden, told Ms Gekul that Mr Philemon has been sent on a superstition mission, including poisoning her food, in what could also be linked to a business wrangle.

Yesterday, Manyara regional police authorities were unavailable to provide insights about the matter.