Riot police line up the corridor of the ward where Sheikh Ponda Issa
Ponda was admitted at the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute in Dar es
Salaam yesterday after the cleric was charged with incitement. PHOTO |
MICHAEL JAMSON
In Summary
The cleric, admitted to Muhimbili since Sunday, was
allegedly hit by a sharp object in Morogoro at the weekend. His family
and followers claim he was shot, but the police have denied it.
Dar es Salaam. Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda was
yesterday charged with incitement as he lay in his hospital bed at the
Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI).
The controversial cleric will, however, remain in
hospital but under police guard, for his case has been adjourned to
August 28 when it will come up for mention at the Kisutu Resident
Magistrate’s Court.
There was drama and tension at the medical
facility as scores of followers of the sheikh, who was injured last
Saturday during a fracas that involved the police, demanded to see him
and check on his health and wish him quick recovery. They had come
during the scheduled visitinghours that run from 4pm to 6pm and were
unaware that the court was in session at the hospital. Police in full
riot gear had to be deployed to ensure there was peace, but Sheikh
Ponda’s lawyers prevailed over them, until they gave in and allowed the followers to see their patient as soon as the court session was over.
The cleric, admitted to Muhimbili since Sunday,
was allegedly hit by a sharp object in Morogoro at the weekend. His
family and followers claim he was shot, but the police have denied it.
A police probe team has been formed to investigate
the matter. Medical authorities at the MOI have said they could
notestablish the cause of the wound because prior to his admission at
the facility, the patient had been attended to elsewhere by medics other
than theirs.
Before the court session started yesterday, Sheikh
Ponda’s lawyers engaged the police and the magistrate in a legal debate
that lasted two hours.
“The police wanted to question our client, but we
refused on grounds that he is not in a position to talk. He is still
nursing wounds that are very painful,” Mr Juma Nassor, the head of
Ponda’s legal team, told reporters at the MOI yesterday.
After the arguments, Kisutu Resident Magistrate
Hellen Riwa headed for Sheikh Ponda’s bedside,accompanied by other court
officials and the police to preside over the court session.
State attorney Tumaini Kweka read the charges that included “incitement leading to commission of an offence.”
“On diverse dates
between June 2 and August 11 at different places within the United
Republic of Tanzania, the accused, purported to be secretary of Great
Council of Muslim Organisation and Association of Tanzania, did incite
his disciples to commit an offence,” the charge sheet reads in part.
But Sheikh Ponda argued that the charge sheet
contains legal anomalies which he intends to challenge when the case
comes up for mention on August 28.
“The charges say our client committed the offence
at different places in the United Republic of Tanzania. If that is so,
then the Kisutu court has no jurisdiction to hear the case,” Mr Nassor
noted.
Source: The citizen
Source: The citizen
