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Advocate Karume denies ever insulting magistrate
2007-11-23 19:05:32
By Correspondent Austin Beyadi
Dar es Salaam advocate Fatuma Amani Karume, who was on Wednesday accused by a magistrate at the city`s Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court on Wednesday of threatening her, hit back yesterday.
She dismissed the withdrawal of two magistrates from her client`s case as a planned boycott that followed her charges that one of them had demanded a bribe from the client.
The advocate, a daughter of Zanzibar President Amani Abeid Karume, told The Guardian in the city that magistrates at the court may have deliberately decided not to preside over her client`s case as a way of settling scores following her charges.
On Wednesday Principal Resident Magistrate Eddy Lyamuya withdrew from hearing a matrimonial case, saying counsel Karume had insulted and threatened her.
She claimed at the court that the counsel had threatened to deal with her ``accordingly``.
Lyamuya became the third magistrate to withdraw from the case. Adolf Mahay withdrew on September 20 this year and the case was turned over to Principal Resident Magistrate Euphemia Mingi on October 18 but she too pulled out only days later allegedly after she was also insulted.
However, yesterday advocate Karume claimed the magistrates had been deliberately setting far-off adjournment dates to avoid hearing the case.
She added that the first magistrate did not withdraw willingly but did so following her request that he disqualify himself from the case.
``The first magistrate withdrew not because I was rude during the respective proceedings but because there were allegations between my client and the magistrate,`` advocate Karume pointed out.
She further claimed that magistrate Lyamuya did not tell the media truth when she said that she was insulted and threatened.
She denied ever having insulted or threatened the magistrate, adding that she had merely told her that she was going to file an official complaint against her.
The advocate said magistrate Lyamuya looked `visibly hostile` to her when they met in the court corridors before entering court chamber.
`The magistrates are purposely trying to portray me as a professional so as to damage my reputation. They are unfairly portraying me as a stubborn counsel,` claimed advocate Karume, adding that the magistrates’ withdrawal from her client`s case was totally unjustifiable.
Contacted for comment on the matter yesterday, Tanganyika Law Society President Joaquine Demello said she would issue a statement soon.
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