A Chinese national, Zhao Hanquing, currently serving a 10-year-jail term for illegal fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the United Republic of Tanzania, has fired advocates John Mapinduzi and Capt. Ibrahim Bendera for representing him in the matter.
This was revealed at the Court of Appeal during hearing of an appeal the Chinese and Taiwanese Hsu Chin Tai have filed to oppose the judgment issued by the High Court last year. The appeal is before Justices Salum Massati, Semistocles Kaijage and Batuel Mmilla.
After the registrar had called the appeal for hearing, Principal State Attorney Biswalo Mganga, for the prosecution, rose up to seek the court’s guidance after receiving a notice from the Chinese indicating that he has changed the representation of his advocates in the matter.
Before the prosecution’s intervention, the two advocates (Mapinduzi and Capt. Bendera) had introduced themselves before the panel that they were defending both the Chinese and the Taiwan nationals in the appeal.
Mr Mganga further informed the justices that the notice of change of representations indicated that the Chinese had chosen advocate Amour Hamis to defend him in the matter. Since the new advocate was not in court the prosecutor requested the court to adjourn the hearing to another date.
Advocates Mapinduzi and Bendera appeared to have been shocked by the changes and expressed their concern of not been served with such notice.
They informed the court that they were surprised to be disengaged while they have already prepared and filed the notice of appeal and memorandums.
They asked the court to order the Chinese to explain what had happened. However, after hearing the arguments from the parties, the justices decided to adjourn the hearing to another date to be fixed by the Registrar of the court.
In the appeal, the two convicts are asking the appeals court to quash their conviction on two offences and set aside the sentence of ten years imprisonment or a total fine of 21bn/- imposed against them by High Court Judge Augustine Mwarija on February 23, last year.
The two were convicted of unlawful carrying out fishing activities in the EEZ and sentenced to pay a fine of 1bn/- each or go in jail for ten years in default of paying the fine. Tai was convicted of another separate offence of water pollution and degradation of marine environment.
He was sentenced to pay a fine of 20bn/- or imprisoned for 10 years upon failure to pay the fine in question. Both appellants failed to pay the fine.
During the trial, the prosecution had alleged that on various dates between January 10 and March 8, 2009, while on board of Motor Vessel named Number 68 Buyoung, alias Tawariq-1, alias Tawariq-2, the accused persons jointly carried out fishing activities in the EEZ of Tanzania without a licence.
The court was told further that within the same period, the accused polluted environment of the Tanzania’s EEZ by throwing offal and other fish wastes and also by dumping oils in the water.
Source Tanzania Daily News
