Court gives Sheikh Ponda conditional discharge

BY CORRESPONDENT DAVID

10th May 2013

Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda (C) is hugged at Kisutu Resident Magistrate�s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday after being given conditional discharge in judgment of a criminal case involving five counts, including stealing property worth 59m/- and inciting commission of an offence. The court acquitted all his 49 co-accused after the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they had committed an offence. (Photo: Khalfan Said)

The Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday freed Muslim Communities and Institutions Council secretary general Sheikh Issa Ponda, (54), on conditional discharge of 12 months and released 49 others who were facing five counts, including stealing property worth 59m/-.

Giving judgment, Magistrate Victoria Nongwa said that the court found the first accused guilty on the second count of trespassing on a piece of land belonging to Agritanza Limited as testified by the accused himself.

Ponda had admitted to have invaded Agritanza-owned piece of land at Chang'ombe Markas, Temeke District, in order to confiscate it on October 12 last year.

The Magistrate said that taking into the account the time the accused has been in custody and the good background of the accused, she decided to set him free, on conditional discharge of 12 months without committing any offence.

Instead, she advised Ponda to preach peace and maintain discipline throughout the period he is under probation.

She said because of lack of proper evidence produced by the prosecution, the court found the 49 other accused innocent, and freed them.

She said it was the duty of the prosecution to prove the charges to enable the court take legal action against the accused, “but there were some suspicions on the reality of the charges as the evidence was not thorough to prove them guilty.”

“The case raised a lot of suspicious but the court cannot rely on suspicions,” she said.

Ponda and the 49 other accused were facing charges of stealing property worth 59m/-, inciting the commission of the offences, and trespassing on a piece of land
belonging to Agritanza Limited at Chang'ombe Markas in order to own it.

It was alleged that between October 12 and 16, last year, in the same place, the accused without the right and in a manner likely to cause chaos took possession of the land that lawfully belonged to Agritanza Limited.

Another was that on the same day the accused stole various building materials -- 1,500 bricks and 36 tons of iron bars -- all valued at 59,650,000/-, the property of Agritanza Limited.

The last count was that Ponda, being secretary general of the Council of Muslim Communities and Institutions, incited his followers to commit the offences.

Magistrate Nongwa advised the accused to communicate with their lawyers to arrange for legal steps of acquiring the piece of land if it truly belonged to them, cautioning that they should not take the law into their hands.

On the issue of the sales agreements of the said piece of land, the Magistrate said that the Kisutu Court has no mandate to judge anything regarding land disputes, instead she advised them to file a case in the Land Division Court.

She said an appeal for any person who thought he/she was mistreated in the case was open.

Talking to journalists after the court’s ruling Ponda commended his followers for being patient throughout the period they were in detention, saying that the court was right to free him.

He criticised security organs for framing cases against innocent people.
Ponda and 49 other accused persons appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court for the first in October last year facing the five charges.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN