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Ukrainians face murder charges of Tanzanian stowaways
2006-01-07 09:30:17
By Gerald Kitabu and agencies
Three Ukranian crewmen were yesterday charged with murder after allegedly forcing seven Tanzanian stowaways to jump off a ship in South Africa’s port of Durban, resulting in at least two deaths, police said.
Durban police spokeswoman, Gugu Sabela said the three crewmembers along with the ship’s captain appeared in court yesterday and were each freed on a cash bail of 20,000 rand ($3,200).
Sabela said the incident occurred on Wednesday after the ship arrived from Mombasa, Kenya, carrying the Tanzanians as undocumented passengers.
The crewmembers, wary of South African laws that require ship owners to pay for the repatriation of stowaways, forced the Tanzanians to jump overboard before the ship was checked, she said.
Five of the stowaways managed to swim ashore but the other two were presumed drowned, she said by telephone.
She said the crewmembers were each charged with two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
The captain was charged with aiding and abetting the transit of illegal immigrants and could also face murder or attempted murder charges, she added.
Divers in the area of the ship had yet to locate the bodies of the two missing Tanzanians, Sabela said.
Police say illegal immigration through South Africa’s busy ports is a growing problem as many stowaways, particularly from poorer parts of Africa, seek to sneak into the country to take advantage of its booming economy.
Meanwhile, Tanzanian police issued a strong warning yesterday against people leaving the country as stowaways, saying such actions violated international travel regulations.
Speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the Director of Criminal investigations Adadi Rajab said that many Tanzanians had lost their lives in similar criminal circumstances.
Commenting on reports of two Tanzania nationals who were reported to have been tossed into the Atlantic Ocean in South Africa, Adadi said his force would collaborate with Interpol to establish the cause.
He said he had already communicated with the Interpol in South Africa to verify the citizenship of the victims.
However, the police chief expressed concern over the tossing into the ocean of the stowaways saying it was in violation of human rights.
Commenting on an incident in which Abdallah Said Mohamed (31) a Tanzanian national who died in Malawi recently when the drug sachets he had swallowed burst in his stomach, Adadi said the Malawian police had already done a post-mortem and his body given to his relatives for burial back at home.
He said the other three suspects being held by Malawian police are also Tanzanians and would be tried and convicted as per the Malawian laws.
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