Court ruling on 5bn/- ivory case due today

 
 The Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court is today expected to deliver judgment on a case of unlawful possession of elephant tusks worth 5bn/- facing three Chinese nationals.

 

The judgment is expected to be read by Principal Resident Magistrate Cyprian Mkeha after both prosecution and defence had finished presenting their submissions in court.

 

During the hearing, nine witnesses testified against the accused and more than five exhibits were tendered in court while the accused   had no witnesses and instead they defended themselves.

 

The accused in the case are Huang Gin (50), Xu Fujie (22) and Chen Jinzhan (31). They were first arraigned before the court on November in 2013. 

 

They are charged with unlawful possession of elephant tusks valued at over 5bn/-. 

 

The accused committed the offence on November 2, 2013 at Kifaru Street, Mikocheni B within Kinondoni District in the city.

 

The prosecution told the court that jointly and severally, the accused were found in unlawful possession of 706 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 1889 kilos valued at 5,435,865,000/- the property of the government without a permit from the director of wildlife.

 

It was reported that the said tusks represent about 400 elephants killed. The pieces were stuck in sacks in the house of the Chinese nationals.

 

Meanwhile, a fisherman, Said Mbaruku (37), was arraigned at the same court charged with unlawfully entering the country without valid permit and uttering false documents.

 

Before Principal Resident Magistrate, Thomas Simba, it was alleged that on March 8, this year at Kinondoni District in the Immigration Office, the accused being a citizen of Burundi was living  in the country without a valid permit or Visa.

 

The prosecutor from Immigration office Hadija Masudi further claimed that on unknown date in 2015 at voters Registration centre at Igalula Primary School in Tabora Region, the accused being a citizen of Burundi made a false statement by introducing herself as a Tanzanian and obtained a voters Card  No. T-1004 - 6018-486-4.

 

It was also alleged that the accused did so for the purpose of obtaining a Tanzanian passport unlawfully while knowing that doing so amounts to an offence.

 

The accused pleaded guilty to the charge and the court sentenced him to pay fine of 1.5m/- or to go jail for 6 months.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Friday, March 18, 2016