RC accused of sexually assaulting a student
What you need to know:
- The suspect allegedly attempted to woo the student by offering financial support and promising a lavish lifestyle, including a monthly expenditure of not less than Sh500,000.
Mwanza. The Mwanza Regional Police Force has launched an investigation into allegations of sodomy against a high-ranking official in the Lake Zone region.
The official is accused of forcibly sodomising a female university student, who reported the incident to the police. She provided the mobile phone number of the culprits, used for communication, as evidence.
According to an investigation conducted by Mwananchi Newspaper, the names used during the registration of the mobile phone numbers match those of a presidential appointee who was posted as a top official in one of the Lake Zone regions.
The alleged incident, said to have occurred on June 2, 2024, in the parking lot of a popular bar in Mwanza, has garnered attention on social media platforms, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter).
Sources indicate that the investigation is being conducted discreetly due to the seniority of the government official involved. As of Monday evening, the suspect had not been apprehended.
Preliminary reports suggest that the police have obtained samples from the student's clothes for DNA testing to determine if they match the suspect's DNA.
The samples have been sent to the Government Chief Chemist for analysis.
Reports also indicate that the investigation is ongoing, with preliminary findings being forwarded to the Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Ramadhan Kingai, who was unavailable for comment.
A request for information from the Deputy Director's Office of Criminal Investigation was declined, with the suggestion to contact the Mwanza Regional Police Commander for further details.
When reached for comment, Regional Police Commander Wilbrod Mtafungwa stated that he was attending a funeral.
Similarly, Acting Regional Police Commander Gideon Msuya neither confirmed nor denied the incident, citing confidentiality in his capacity as a commander.
Regional Commissioner Said Mtanda, as the chairman of the security committee in the region, expressed unawareness of the incident and suggested contacting the police for further information.
How it began
The genesis of the relationship between the suspect and the 21-year-old student dates back to January 2024 in Mwanza.
They reportedly met at a birthday party, exchanged phone numbers, and began communicating regularly.
The suspect allegedly attempted to woo the student by offering financial support and promising a lavish lifestyle, including a monthly expenditure of not less than Sh500,000.
Regarding the incident itself, sources suggest that the suspect used various tactics to coerce the student into meeting him in Mwanza.
After a rendezvous at a popular bar, the suspect allegedly insisted on engaging in unnatural sexual acts inside a car parked in the club's parking lot.
Security camera footage from the club captured the suspect's car entering, parking, and leaving the premises.
On June 3, the day after the alleged sexual assault, the student reported the incident to the Police Gender and Children's Desk in Mwanza.
She underwent a medical examination at a major hospital in the city, which confirmed the sexual assault.
The Police Force has requested the suspect's car registration numbers from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA). Additionally, procedures are underway to submit the student's phone and security camera footage for forensic examination.
