Police outlaw Chadema demonstrations

               Chadema Director for Organisation and Training, Singo Kigaila

Party says demos peaceful, constitutional right
Tanzania police force say they do not recognise the opposition party Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) demonstrations planned to start today and warn the public not to participate.

 

Chadema Director for Organisation and Training Singo Kigaila said that although police have outlawed the demonstrations, Chadema and its followers will carry them out nonetheless.

 

He was speaking to press yesterday in Dar es Salaam where he said the demonstration will last for an entire week and will be conducted countrywide at regional and district levels.

 

“We have already presented letters to all Regional Police Commanders and Officer Commanding District (OCDs) informing them our intention to conduct the peaceful demonstrations as our constitutional right,” he said.

 

 “We are going to start the demonstrations tomorrow (today…they will begin at different places but all the demonstrations will end at the regional and district commissioners offices,” he explained. 

 

He said for Dar es Salaam, the demonstrations will be conducted on Wednesday marching to the Regional Commissioners Office.

 

“The demonstration will be peaceful…we want to save the tax payers’ money that the CA is wasting…the funds can be channeled to social services, “he said citing that so far, the Constituent Assembly  (CA) has spent 27bn/- in phase one alone.

 

“…and it is expected to spend up to 20bn/- by the end of this second phase,” lamented Kigaila.

 

Explaining the legality of the demonstrations, Chadema’s Lawyer John Malya, explained that, as required by the law, his party has sent a letter to police informing them of its intention to conduct peaceful demonstrations.

 

He said according to the law, any person who wants to convene an assembly or procession in any public place shall, not less than 48 hours before the time when the assembly or procession is scheduled to take place, submit a written notification of the assembly or procession to the police officer in charge of the area.

 

The notification should specify the place and time in which the meeting is to take place and the purpose of the meeting, he went on to elaborate.

“Our demonstration is legal because we have already fulfilled all these legal requirements,” he insisted.

 

Reached for comments, Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Isaya Mngulu said that police have not permitted any demonstration to be conducted by Chadema.

 

He said according to the law governing political parties, if any party is not satisfied with the police’s decision, they should follow the law and appeal with the Minister of Home Affairs.

 

“So if Chadema is not satisfied with our decision, they should follow the law and appeal with the Minister of Home Affairs,” he concluded cautioning Chadema followers not to take part in the demonstrations.

 

On September 14 this year, Chadema threatened to conduct countrywide demonstrations in protest of the ongoing Constituent Assembly (CA) which they want  stopped with immediate effect.