Jackbauer
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 28, 2010
- 6,038
- 2,199
tutasikia mengi juu ya tukio hili.
source ;the citizen
Mr Liberatus Barlow
By Frederick Katulanda, The Citizen Correspondent
Mwanza. Mwanza Regional Police Commander Liberatus Barlow was assassinated, according to sources familiar with the crime situation in the lakeside region.Mr Barlow was shot dead early yesterday by a gang, which did not take anything from him."The circumstances of the killing show that he was eliminated…it was an assassination, which probably had something to do with his relentless and highly effective fight against organised crime in the region and no-nonsense stance on discipline in the Police Force in the region," said a source who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals.
Another source, who also asked not to be named, said it was possible that Mr Barlow had made many enemies since he was transferred to Mwanza from Tabora Region.
Mr Barlow was about to drop a woman (name withheld) at her home in the city's Kitangiri area at around 1am when he was shot dead by armed men dressed as members of a community policing group. The killing sparked fresh security fears in Mwanza, which has in recent months seen a lull in violent crime.
Mwanza Regional Commissioner Evarist Ndikilo said Director of Criminal Investigations Robert Manumba was expected in Mwanza yesterday to lead the investigation into the killing, adding that it was too early to speculate on the killers' motive.
"Let's wait for the investigators to complete their work. It is too early to know the motive of the RPC's killing since there are conflicting reports on the circumstances of his death. We're shocked…this has never happened before," Mr Ndikilo told journalists. He said there were indications that he killers knew Mr Barlow and had monitored his movements.
"The RPC attended a wedding planning meeting at Florida Hotel and left some minutes to 1am accompanied by a woman…it possible that those who killed him were tracking his movements," Mr Ndikilo said.
The woman is believed to be a teacher at Nyamagana Primary School and was being held for questioning at Kirumba Police Station in connection with Mr Barlow's death.
Security at the scene of the killing was tight, but The Citizen on Sunday managed to talk to an eyewitness who was living with the woman who was driven home by Mr Barlow.
The secondary school student, who is the woman's nephew, said he opened the gate to let the car in when he saw five people outside the vehicle.
"I think it was after midnight when I opened the gate. I saw three people on the driver's side and two on the passenger's side. Inside the car was my aunt and a person I didn't recognise. The two men who were on the passenger's side tried grab my aunt's mobile phone and handbag. There was an argument and I heard the deafening sound of a gunshot," he said.
The boy said his aunt had a short while ago telephoned him, saying she would come with a visitor who wanted to know where she lived. Mwanza residents were in shock yesterday, with some saying that they feared that there would be an upsurge in crime in the city following Mr Barlow's killing.
Ms Maimuna Kanyamala, who is the director of the NGO Haki Sawa, told The Citizen on Sunday that Mwanza was likely to become the Lake Zone's crime capital again after Mr Barlow's death. "Prior to his arrival, Mwanza was a crime-plagued city where robberies and killings were the order of the day. With Barlow now gone, the criminals are likely to take over the city again," she said.
Ms Kanyamala said it was the first time that a regional police commander had been killed in cold blood in Tanzania, adding that this pointed to a worrying security situation not only in Mwanza, but the entire country.
Businessman Zully Nanji paid tribute to Mr Barlow, saying he had done a lot to make Mwanza safe for its residents.
"In the short period he had served as RPC, he changed Mwanza from a place where criminals operated freely into a safe city. Mwanza was slowly becoming a tourist destination but all this could change. He will be sorely missed," he s
source ;the citizen