Cornered by PCCB
The Guardian on Sunday has reliably established that PCCB has cornered SFO regarding the extradition of Vithlani as well as two Britons who are highly implicated in the controversial radar deal.
The situation comes just few days after the revelation that, the BAE case put UK authorities in a tight position over the years, with one official diplomat from the British High Commission in Dar es Salaam trying to block the investigation at one point between 2006 and 2007.
The official, who has since retired and returned to the UK, tried unsuccessfully to block PCCB officials from nailing two Britons believed to be close associates of former Prime Minister Blair.
In one incident, the diplomat wrote a very damning dossier asking for protection the Britons implicated in the case, to avoid what he described as a huge embarrassment to the UK government and to Blair's regime.
The diplomat wrote that it would be embarrassing for the world to know that some of Blair's close associates connived to ‘steal' from a poor country like Tanzania whose budget is in large part financed by foreign donors including the UK.
The dossier was intercepted by top officials within the SFO, who then leaked the information to the PCCB.
A senior PCCB official close to the radar investigation, told The Guardian on Sunday this week, "SFO are at the crossroads on whether to extradite Vithlani or not…We have officially informed them but we don't know why they taking so long to cooperate."
Speaking under the conditions of anonymity, the official added, "What puzzles me is that the very same people who have been at the forefront to pressure Tanzania to arrest and prosecute corruption suspects are the ones who are now shielding radar suspects."