Amatus Liyumba

Third witness in a case of possessing prohibited items in prison facing former Bank of Tanzania (BoT) personnel and administrative director Amatus Liyumba (63) have said the latter had confessed during interrogation to have used a mobile phone in jail.

Testifying in Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, assistant superintendent of prison Eshimuni Mkwavi (58) claimed that the accused informed him that he used the handset in communicating with the BoT officials.

Led by principal state attorney Tumaini Kweka Mkwavi, Mkwavi claimed that a prison officer he identified, as SP John Gwiliva, informed him on July 27, last year that prisoner number 303 of 2010 (Liyumba) was possessing a cell phone in his room number 9.

He claimed that, Liyumba requested for a blank paper to write a confession statement in form of apology acknowledging to possess a mobile phone in prison because apparently he was not feeling well.

Kwavi explained that when the accused finished writing his apology, he asked SP Gwiliva to take it to police station and file a case for Liyumba to be charged in court for the offence.

The prosecution side requested the court to accept the apology, as statement of confession from Liyumba, but defense counsel Majura Magafu objected, it arguing that the reason presented by Kweka doest qualify the law status and that it’s the duty of prosecution to help the court and not to mislead it.

The case was adjourned until today for ruling.

According to the charge sheet, on July 27, this year, at Ukonga area, in Ilala municipality, Dar es Salaam region, Liyumba brought in prison a mobile phone with international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number 356273/04/276170/3 and a subscriber identity module (SIM) card number 0653 004662 contrary to the law and prison regulations.