By Hamida Shariff and Lilian Lucas The Citizen Correspondents
Posted Wednesday, October 2 2013 at 08:15
Posted Wednesday, October 2 2013 at 08:15
In Summary
A legal battle ensued after State Attorney
Bernard Kongola asked the defence to ensure that there were no reasons
to halt the proceedings on November 7 when the case would come up again
for hearing.
Morogoro. Drama ensued at a
Morogoro court yesterday when the secretary of the Council of Islamic
Organisations in Tanzania, Sheikh Ponda Issa ponda, disowned two defence
lawyers.
Sheikh Ponda’s change of heart came after his
legal counsel failed to show up in court a few minutes after his case
came up for hearing at the Morogoro Resident Magistrate’s Court.
Instead, the controversial cleric was represented
by Yahaya Njama who had represented him in a previous case at the Kisutu
Resident Magistrate’s Court.
Mr Njama told resident magistrate Richard Kabate
who is presiding over the case that he came to Mr Ponda’s rescue on
behalf of the cleric’s well-known lawyer, Juma Nassoro, who he said was
receiving treatment in India.
A legal battle ensued after State Attorney Bernard
Kongola asked the defence to ensure that there were no reasons to halt
the proceedings on November 7 when the case would come up again for
hearing.
Mr Kabate said the court recognised lawyers Ignas
Punge, Batlomeo Tarimo, and Juma Nasoro, who, he added, their records
were in the court files.
“This court cannot believe that these lawyers are
not representing the accused person until they bring a written official
communication,’’ he said.
But defence lawyer, Yahaya Njama, stuck to his
guns that his client had no idea whatsoever that the two lawyers were
representing him.
Sheikh Ponda is charged with three counts of incitement, defying a legal order and instigating religious hatred.
Meanwhile, the Muslim cleric’s application to have
the first count of violating a legal order quashed on the grounds that
the court had no jurisdiction to preside over the matter hit a brick
wall yesterday.
Magistrate Kabate rejected the defence’s request
that it be taken to the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s court, saying that
the offence was committed in Morogoro.
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN
