Saturday, 22 June 2013

Unanswered questions after spate of grenade attacks


 
By The Citizen Reporters  (email the author)

Posted  Wednesday, June 19  2013 at  19:04
In Summary
We’re not sure whether defence and security organs have the capacity to prevent attacks such as those happening in Arusha and investigate the incidents after they happen.


Dar es Salaam. A number of key questions need to be answered following two deadly grenade attacks in Arusha in the last two months, according to various commentators.
The main concern is on how safe Tanzanians are when they exercise their right of assembly, worship and participation in politics.
The first attack took place on May 5 when a grenade was thrown into a crowd during the inauguration of the St Joseph Parish in Olasiti. Three people died and more than 50 were injured. The Vatican’s ambassador to Tanzania, Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla, and the head of Arusha archdiocese, Archbishop Josaphat Lebulu, escaped unhurt.
The second grenade attack last Saturday at a political rally in Kaloleni area killed four people and wounded more than 70.
Dr Hellen Kijo-Bisimba, Executive Director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), told The Citizen that there were queries whether the government is up to the task of protecting its citizens and their properties.
“We’re not sure whether defence and security organs have the capacity to prevent attacks such as those happening in Arusha and investigate the incidents after they happen,” Dr Kijo-Bisimba said, adding that security organs must identify the source of the problem and arrest those who have brought the nation into this situation.
Mr Bashiru Ally, a lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, challenged the government to assure all Tanzanians of their safety. “We need an explanation from the government on just how safe people are. We need to know the source of the incessant chaos we have been seeing for about five years now,” he said.
Mr Bashiru said despite the formation of various probe teams to investigate such incidents, no reports had been made public to shed light on who are behind the attacks and their intentions.
Another expert from the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), Mr Emmanuel Mallya, said failure by state machinery to capture those behind the attacks and bring them to justice was eroding the public’s trust on security agencies.
“Security organs were by this time supposed to have arrested those sponsoring this wave of terror attacks and expose their intentions. This has not been done,” he said.
The coordinator of the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders (THRD-Coalition), Mr Onesmo Olengurumwa, said he was wondering whether the bomb attacks were a result of politically or religiously driven agenda.
He said Tanzanians wanted to know who was behind the attacks. Police spokesperson Advera Senso was not available for comment as her mobile phone was not reachable.