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Tibaigana lorries order quashed
2005-07-23 07:38:45
By Emmanuel Kihaule
The Police Force said yesterday that there was nothing wrong with lorries carrying passengers, provided they were not overloaded.
Police spokesman Aden Mwamunyange told the media in Dar es Salaam that there was a ”critical” shortage of transportation means in the country and that it was only logical that lorries and pickups were allowed to carry passengers.
”But we insist that the vehicles shouldn’t be overloaded so as not to endanger life and property,” he said.
Mwamunyange’s remarks means that the force has, in effect, overruled Dar es Salaam Regional Police Commander Alfred Tibaigana who banned political parties from using lorries to transport their supporters in the region last month, saying it was against the law.
Mwamunyange said the Police Force had never been against the use of lorries in ferrying passengers because such inflexibility was not in line with realities on the ground.
”We don’t forbid the ferrying of passengers on lorries or pickups… it’s the number of people on board that concerns us. If the number is reasonable, then there is no cause for concern,” he said.
On whether the pronouncement contradicted the Road Traffic Act No. 30 of 1973, Mwamunyange admitted that it was against the law to use vehicles contrary to the purpose they were built for.
”It’s true that the law strictly forbids the use of lorries in carrying passengers or buses to move cargo, but we have to be flexible in the prevailing circumstances,” he said.
He added that it was high time the law was amended so that it could come into line with reality.
However, Mwamunyange declined to say whether the pronouncement paved the way for the release of five lorries seized by police in Dar es Salaam earlier this week.
The lorries allegedly transported Civic United Front (CUF) supporters to a public rally in Morogoro and back to the city last weekend.
Tibaigana said on Tuesday
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