|
Three policemen arrested after Dar trader shot dead
2007-11-28 09:03:41
By Angel Navuri
Three policemen have been arrested in connection with Sunday night`s shooting incident in Dar es Salaam that left one man dead and two other people seriously injured.
Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander Alfred Tibaigana told journalists yesterday that the deceased was identified as Thomas Mwingira and the names of the injured were given as Consolata Mwingira (40) and Joyce Mwingira, a pupil at Yombo Primary School aged 15.
All three victims were members of the same family and residents of the city`s Kiwalani suburb, he said.
The police officer said the incident occurred after the policemen, whom he identified as PC William, PC Rashid and PC Marks, shot in the air with submachine guns in an apparent attempt to disperse suspected gamblers.
The policemen were attached to a post in the suburb and had collected the guns from the Buguruni Police Station armoury, he said, adding that it was yet to be established whether they were on duty at the time of the shooting.
`The tragic incident occurred at Kiwalani when the policemen, apparently on routine patrol duties, bumped into Thomas Mwingira allegedly in connection with gambling.
They arrested the small trader but his two colleagues, also believed to have been gambling, came to his rescue by pelting the policemen with stones and it was then that the policemen shot in the air,`explained
Tibaigana.
A total of 18 live bullets were shot in the air, he said, with Thomas ending up with gunshots in the groin and dying soon after.
He said the policemen are in custody pending further investigations, adding that the Police Force had formed a six-member team to probe the matter.
`I would like to call for understanding and cooperation from members of the public as the investigations continue.
I swear that justice will be done and seen to be done and all parties concerned will be treated fairly until a logical conclusion is reached,` Tibaigana had said in an interview with a local FM radio station earlier yesterday.
He noted that the team had already swung into action and would submit its report on December 7.
Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Abbas Kandoro paid the injured a visit at the Muhimbili National Hospital, where they are admitted, in the afternoon.
|
