Police silent over Tito Magoti's whereabouts

Dar es Salaam. Police in Tanzania are yet to say where the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) Public Affairs’ Officer Tito Magoti is being held  and the charges he was arrested for, 24 hours after authorities confirmed they were holding the activist for interrogation.

Even with the confirmation by the Regional Police Commander Lazaro Mambosasa, neither Mr Magoti’s family nor LHRC know the police station he is being held.

Magoti’s brother, Mr Edwin Magoti, said in a press conference today, December 21, 2019 that as  a family, they were saddened by the way the arrest was conducted.

“We think that it was not a proper way to enforce the law. We call upon the relevant authorities to accord the incident its desired attention and inform us of [Magoti’s] whereabouts and what charges he  facing.”

LHRC’s executive director Anna Henga criticized the manner with which her employee was arrested, saying that as employer she was not even informed of the arrest and she was even prevented from getting information on the matter.

 “As part of clearing doubt that Tanzania does not respect human rights, we ask the Police Force to say which police station Mr Magoti is being held and the crime that he has committed.”

The Citizen has tried to get comments from Mambosasa but no avail as his phone remained unanswered  

Earlier yesterday, there were reports that Mr Magoti, 26, had been kidnapped by unknown people around 10 am in Mwenge, Kinondoni, at the Sam Nujoma and Bagamoyo Roads intersection.

But in a statement to the public released yesterday, December 20, 2019, Dar es Salaam Special Zones Commander Lazaro Mambosasa said what happened was not a kidnap, but rather  anordinary police arrest