The Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam moved to Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) where Secretary of the Council of Islamic Organisation, Ponda Issa Ponda, was prosecuted for one count of incitement.
Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda
Before Senior Resident Magistrate Helen Riwa, the controversial Muslim cleric pleaded “not guilty” to the charge. The magistrate ordered him to remain in custody until August 28, when the case will be mentioned as investigations, according to the prosecution, have not been completed.
Senior State Attorney Tumaini Kweka, for the prosecution, told the court that on various dates between June and August, this year at various places in the country, Ponda incited the pubic to commit offences, contrary to Section 35 and 390 of the Penal Code.
The arraignment of thecleric comes a few days after he was admitted to the hospital after being wounded in clashes between police and his supporters who tried to block his arrest in Morogoro Region last Saturday. It is alleged that the police fired into the air when stonethrowing supporters of Ponda blocked them as they tried to arrest him for allegedly inciting unrest.
The controversial Sheikh was alleged to have been shot in the right shoulder. A police commission has been appointed to review the conditions under which Ponda was shot. Morogoro Regional Police Commander (RPC) Faustine Shilogile was reported as saying that he had no information on the said shooting.
“I do not know if Ponda was shot although there are such rumours in Morogoro,” RPC Shilogile is reported to have said, but confirmed that armed police had attempted to arrest him in the town, leading to confrontation with his supporters who took him away in a motorcycle.
He said that few minutes after Ponda had addressed a religious gathering, there was a fracas as the mob blocked the police from arresting him, prompting them to open fire and shot in the air to disperse the crowd. The cleric allegedly sustained bullet wounds during the confrontation and that he had been rushed to the regional hospital for treatment and that the people escorting him to the hospital sneaked him out to escape a police trap.
Ponda was in May this year, convicted of forcible entry into a plot by the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam. He was given suspended sentence of 12 months and warned to refrain from taking part in any incitement activities.
Zanzibar Commissioner of Police Mussa Ali Mussa was reported to have said that Ponda had been engaged in organising provocative religious gatherings, which threatened the peace and unity among the people in the Isles. He claimed that his statements breached Police directions to religious leaders to avoid giving messages which fuel misunderstandings and threaten the country’s peace.
He was alleged to have called on the citizens to initiate strikes against the government. According to the police in Zanzibar, Ponda had requested the believers to be ready to fight for their rights and stressing that they should remain courageous.
He was also quoted to have said he had gone to the Isles to visit imprisoned sheikhs of the Revival Islamic Group. It is also reported that he claimed giving instructions to relay a message to Islamic believers to maintain their stance when it comes to pursuing their rights.
By FAUSTINE KAPAMA, Tanzania Daily News
