Temeke DC orders police to arrest those who show off money online
Dar es Salaam. The District Commissioner of Temeke, Sixtus Mapunda, has instructed the police force to arrest all individuals who post content on social media boasting about having money.
The DC, who didn't specify the laws that prohibit people from flaunting their wealth or the law that gives him the mandate to order police to make such arrests, made the remarks while speaking to residents of Mbagala in Dar es Salaam about the erosion of morals and criminal activities.
“If someone takes a picture with a lot of money to show that life is easy, if they are from Temeke, arrest them. There is no hard-earned money that is flaunted; hard-earned money is kept hidden just as people don’t announce when they receive their salary," he said.
“Free money is spread out on the table with cameras, and we say we are safe? They are teaching the youth either about drug use or witchcraft," he added.
He instructed the police that if the individuals were from Temeke, they should be arrested and held in custody for questioning where they got the money from and how much tax they paid.
Commenting on the DC’s order Dr Onesmo Kyauke, a lecturer at the University of Dar es Saalm said that in criminal offenses, there must be a provision that specifies something as a crime because even when an officer arrests you, they are required to tell you what crime you are being accused of and which section of the law has been violated.
“In such a matter, it is a person's individual lifestyle, and no one is allowed to interfere with a person's freedom if they are not breaking the country's laws because their perspective does not align with the issue at hand. Even if a person is arrested for that reason, it would be a violation of the law and an abuse of power, top government officials are supposed to make their statements without breaking the law,” he said.
