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Many jam Kisutu court for NMB robbery case
2006-05-06 09:12:43
By Hannah Mwandoloma
Kisutu Resident Magistrates Court overflowed with humanity after curious Dar es Salaam residents went to attend the start of the proceedings of a case in which nine people are accused of murdering two people.
The court was a beehive of activities as people jammed the courtroom, where they jostled for a vantage point to have a fleeting glimpse of the nine accused as they arrived.
The suspects arrived at the court at around 11am in three police Land Rovers under tight security and were quickly whisked into a courtroom as members of the public, who had arrived at the court early, surged and craned to see them.
Journalists and photographers had a hectic time keeping pace with the suspects who were hurried into the courtroom that was full to the brim. People had to fight for space inside the court, where all sitting space had been taken up.
Photographers had to wade through a sea of humanity to get a chance to click their cameras for the pictures of the accused before the court session began.
The suspects looked haggard and famished, after nearly three weeks in remand, where they underwent intense police interrogation.
Once in court, they were ushered into the dock, where they waited for nearly 30 minutes before the Principal Resident Magistrate Michael Luguru arrived to read to them the charges.
Once business got underway, it took the magistrate less than 15 minutes to read the charges to the accused, who were not allowed to plead to the charges.
The high-profile case drew people from all walks of life who arrived in time for the proceedings.
Police Constable Abdallah and Ernest Manyonyi were shot dead in the April 20 incident.
The nine accused are alleged to have jointly and separately taken part in the murder of the two during which 150m/ was stolen.
The accused then allegedly stole 150m/- at gun point, during which two people were shot dead.
The money was part of 1bn/- that was being moved from NMB Bank House to its Wami branch, Morogoro.
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