Tanzanian Civil Society Consortium on Election Observation (Tacceo) yesterday condemned the recent police attack on its offices, saying the move aimed at weakening democracy and threatening the people’s participation in electoral matters.
The move, according to Tacceo, frustrates the concept of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in presenting opinions aimed at promoting and improving democracy and the electoral process.
“The police action inculcated the feeling that there are people or public organs which are above the law.
If a complete consignment of equipment can be impounded and taken away, thus preventing poll observers from accomplishing their task, then there was no need for us to follow the set procedure to be legally recognized as election observers,” lamented Tacceo deputy chairman Hebron Mwakagenda.
On October 29, four days after polling day, there were media reports about a police attack on an election observer centre (Tacceo) operating under the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), located in Mbezi, on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam during which the centre’s computers and other equipment were seized by the police and carted away.
Mwakagenda said the team of police officers told them that they had been sent by the police top brass after they had been tipped off that some poll observers were collecting and disseminating un-official election information, particularly poll results.
He said 24 desktop computers, three laptops, 25 office and staff telephone gadgets, as well as 36 personnel were taken to central police station in the city and thereafter to the police headquarters.
“Our staff were interrogated and then released on bail, but were ordered to report back the following day for further interrogations,” said Mwakagenda.
According to Tacceo, the consortium staff were charged with violating the Cyber Crime Act of 2015, Article 16 which says:
“Any person who publishes information or data presented in a picture, text, symbol or any other form in a computer system knowing that such information or data is false, deceptive, misleading or inaccurate and with intent to defame, threaten, abuse, insult or otherwise deceive or mislead the public or counsel in commission an offence, commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not less than five million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not less than three years or to both.”
LHRC Deputy Executive Director, Imelda Urio, commented that the police disrupted the observers’ work, recalling that during the biometric voter registration, police pounced on observers in Ludewa district , Njombe region, and beat them up.
Despite reporting the matter to the appropriate authorities, she said, no feedback had since been received, adding that the same treatment seemed to have happened in the current case.
“The police action inculcated the feeling that there are people or public organs which are above the law.
If a complete consignment of equipment can be impounded and taken away, thus preventing poll observers from accomplishing their task, then there was no need for us to follow the set procedure to be legally recognized as election observers,” lamented Tacceo deputy chairman Hebron Mwakagenda.
On October 29, four days after polling day, there were media reports about a police attack on an election observer centre (Tacceo) operating under the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), located in Mbezi, on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam during which the centre’s computers and other equipment were seized by the police and carted away.
Mwakagenda said the team of police officers told them that they had been sent by the police top brass after they had been tipped off that some poll observers were collecting and disseminating un-official election information, particularly poll results.
He said 24 desktop computers, three laptops, 25 office and staff telephone gadgets, as well as 36 personnel were taken to central police station in the city and thereafter to the police headquarters.
“Our staff were interrogated and then released on bail, but were ordered to report back the following day for further interrogations,” said Mwakagenda.
According to Tacceo, the consortium staff were charged with violating the Cyber Crime Act of 2015, Article 16 which says:
“Any person who publishes information or data presented in a picture, text, symbol or any other form in a computer system knowing that such information or data is false, deceptive, misleading or inaccurate and with intent to defame, threaten, abuse, insult or otherwise deceive or mislead the public or counsel in commission an offence, commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not less than five million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not less than three years or to both.”
LHRC Deputy Executive Director, Imelda Urio, commented that the police disrupted the observers’ work, recalling that during the biometric voter registration, police pounced on observers in Ludewa district , Njombe region, and beat them up.
Despite reporting the matter to the appropriate authorities, she said, no feedback had since been received, adding that the same treatment seemed to have happened in the current case.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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