Five Ethiopian nationals facing two counts of entering and staying in the country and possessing an SMG and 264 rounds of ammunition illegally continued being detained in Lindi Regional Remand Prison due to lack of an interpreter.

They are Mohamedi Hassani Warme, Isumaili Abdilahi Shekhe, Abukabari Mohamedi Abdallah, Ally Abdirahi Ahamedi and Hassani Ally Nur all being Ethiopian nationals.

The case is under senior Resident Magistrate Dunstani Ndunguru.

After they appeared in court, public prosecutor Mwahija Ahamadi requested the court to set another date for the case because there was no interpreter to facilitate the hearing, defences and charges.

Only one accused managed to communicate in English, while the others only spoke Amharic.

“Your honour, I request your court to set another date for hearing the case because no interpreter has been found yet," the public prosecutor said.

After the request, the magistrate decided that the case would continue on June 11, this year.

The accused were arrested on May 18, this year, at Ukuza Village in Kilwa District due to good cooperation between the people, the police and immigration officers.