Evodius Justinian (30) is served medicine by his wife Proscovia Cyrilo
outside their house in Bukoba. He is appealing for help to get treated
for an undisclosed ailment he suffered while in police custody awaiting
trial for terrorism charges that have since been dropped.
PHOTO | Joas
Kaijage
By Joas Kaijage, The Citizen on Saturday Correspondent
(email the author)
Posted Saturday, August 31 2013 at 08:00
Posted Saturday, August 31 2013 at 08:00
In Summary
Evodius Justinian, 30, complains of inexorable
pains throughout his body allegedly sustained from torture by security
personnel as they forced him to reveal information related to the
alleged offences soon after his arrest and that of other opposition
party sympathisers.
Bukoba. One of the men cleared of terrorism
charges by the High Court in Tabora has recounted a harrowing experience
of torture by the police for which he is now seeking urgent medical
treatment to save his life.
Evodius Justinian, 30, complains of inexorable
pains throughout his body allegedly sustained from torture by security
personnel as they forced him to reveal information related to the
alleged offences soon after his arrest and that of other opposition
party sympathisers.
As a youthful cadre of Chadema, he said he was
arrested in Bukoba and sent to Mwanza before he was flown to Dar es
Salaam under tight security by police officers.
He had been linked to a campaign fracas in the
hotly contested Igunga by-election in which the ruling CCM faced a scare
from Chadema. The arrested opposition youth were accused of throwing
acid at, and causing grievous harm to a CCM youth.
Having been cleared of the more serious crime,
Evodius will still have to fight over the acid attack charges for which
he is out on bail. However, he fears his deteriorating health may not
see him clear his name if urgent help to receive treatment is not
forthcoming.
“I was brutally tortured during interrogation by
different police officers on my way to Dar es Salaam and Igunga. They
used electronic devices to send excruciating shocks to my secret parts
and nipples. These are pains I will never forget,” he explained in an
interview from his home, and also appealed for help.
He says he has suffered due to his political inclination and wants his party leaders to come to his aid.
“I have developed a persistent coughing and rushes
all over the body. I have painful scars from the severe beating in the
three months that we remained under police custody,” he said and he
showed the injuries to this reporter. “I fear for my life because the
whole of my body is aching and traumatised.”
He says he has been in touch with Chadema General
Secretary, Wilbrod Slaa, whom he said had promised to provide some kind
of support to enable the five youth cadres who were released to pursue
their normal life.
The Chadema district chairperson for Bukoba, Mr
Victor Sherejeh, told The Citizen on Saturday that they were looking at
means to intervene over the appeal for urgent treatment.
“Help from the party headquarters may take long to
reach the victims as officials were out conducting countrywide
awareness campaigns on the constitution.
He said the local office was planning to
fund-raise to enable Evodius to go for specialised medical check up for
his deteriorating health in the next few days.
Since his release a few weeks ago, several people have been
flocking to his parents’ residence in Kastam, a locality on the
periphery of Bukoba town to console him.
He was also attracting heightened interest
following reports that linked the four suspects to Chadema’s defence and
security director Wilfred Lwakatare who is currently undergoing
treatment in India after facing a similar predicament in Dar es Salaam.
According to media reports, soon after their
acquittal, Chadema national leaders have accused the government of using
the police to torment its supporters by framing them with serious
criminal charges.
The party has claimed the arrest and charging of
Evodius and his colleagues was a scheme to paint the opposition party as
one which loves or sponsors terrorism.
Evodius recollects that during his arrest in April
last year, the only items the police collected from his home were three
CD copies of Chadema public gatherings and items on US President Barack
Obama.
As he ponders his future, he is grateful that the
current health complications were not caused by the police in Bukoba.
“In fact they were very generous such that one of them bought me a
toothbrush and tooth paste in additional to a Sh5,000 airtime voucher to
communicate with relatives.” They were the real face of disciplined and
caring officers until their colleagues in
source: The citizen
