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No backing for criminals - Kenya
2007-09-11 09:17:07
By Judica Tarimo
Kenya has said it will not stand by any of its nationals implicated in the recent armed robberies and other criminal activities in Arusha and Moshi.
The assurance comes in the wake of reports in a section of the Tanzanian media that Kenya has been making moves bent on defending some of its citizens arrested in Tanzania in connection with criminal incidents.
The Kenyan High Commissioner to Tanzania, Boaz Mbaya, dismissed the reports yesterday as baseless.
``That is not true. Kenyan authorities are not defending any Kenyans arrested and killed on suspicions of armed robbery,`` the envoy said in a telephone interview in Dar es Salaam.
A total of 14 people, 11 of them Kenyans, were gunned down by police in Moshi last week reportedly as they were preparing to raid a bank at Boma Road in Hai.
“There is no way Kenyan authorities can defend criminals. In fact, some of those killed last week in Moshi were on the most-wanted list of criminals back home in Kenya,” he noted.
An emphatic High Commissioner Mbaya added: “The allegations are not true. We cannot do that. I am a Kenyan ambassador talking to you now; please, don’t rely on unofficial reports. Remember that in my statement issued last Friday, I commended Tanzanian police for a job well done.”
In the Friday statement, the envoy said his government would leave no stone unturned in ensuring the success of the fight against dangerous criminals bent on destabilising regional peace.
He pledged continued cooperation with Tanzania in efforts to root out the menace as a way of protecting law-abiding citizens of both countries and allowing them to live in peace.
Kenyan police authorities have already confirmed that several of the suspected bandits were on Kenya’s most-wanted list, adding some of those killed were out on bail after being charged with criminal offences in Kenyan courts.
Police sources in Kenya said some of the criminals were planning to rescue their six compatriots currently in Tanzanian remand custody in connection with robbery charges.
According to Kilimanjaro police authorities, the bandits gunned down included a woman and were armed with hand-grenades, three AK 47 rifles and pistols, most of which were recovered by police.
Authoritative reports said the criminals were trying to break into Exim Bank at Boma Road in Moshi.
The media had earlier quoted Tanzania Police Force spokesperson Esaka Mugasa as saying that there was no doubt that the slain suspects were armed robbers.
President Jakaya Kikwete has publicly applauded the police who caught up with the 14 for a job well done.
Director of Criminal Investigations Robert Manumba said when contacted by The Guardian yesterday that the suspected bandits were Kenyans, giving that as Tanzania’s official position.
“I spent time taking Kenyan detectives dispatched to investigate the incident to various sites associated with the incident. They returned home to prepare their report, which I know has nothing to do with us (Tanzanian police),” he said.
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