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Alexi Sinduhije. Picture: File By MIKE MANDE
Posted Sunday, January 29 2012 at 17:41
Three confidential letters written by Burundi to help track and arrest Alexis Sinduhije have caused uproar after two top Tanzanian law enforcement officials were sued over the saga surrounding the Bujumbura politician.
The two, Inspector General of Police Saidi Mwema and Attorney General Frederick Werema, have now been given seven days to appear before Justice Lawrence Kaduri to answer charges of violating human rights and good governance.
Herbert Nyange, a lawyer for Sinduhije, has filed a case against two top law enforcers for failure to prosecute Sinduhije as the law requires that a suspect be tried within 24 hours after his arrest.
The development comes after the Burundi government said last week that it was Tanzanian security officers who arrested and detained the Burundi opposition leader when he entered Tanzania and that it had not asked for his arrest.
But three letters seen by The EastAfrican show Burundi had requested Tanzania help arrest, detain and hand over Sinduhije, the leader of Movement for Solidarity and Development.
The letters from the Burundian government through its embassy in Tanzania said that due to the fact that Tanzania is a friendly country, it was important to assist in arresting the official.
Another letter by the Burundian attorney-general requested the extradition of the opposition politician to face murder charges. He is accused of killing Dr Kassi Manlan from Ivory Coast, who was the head of the World Health Organisation's Burundi office and his servant Nzisabira and is also accused of participating in the Katumba massacre that took place in September 2011.
However, the Burundian government failed to lodge criminal charges against Sinduhije in the Tanzanian courts and the application for extradition to Burundi failed, with the the opposition politician being remanded for 14 days in the Central Police Station without criminal charges.
In his submission at the High Court of Tanzania, Mr Nyange said that the arrest of Sinduhije was illegal and a violation of his human rights. Sinduhije had arrived in the country from Kampala, Uganda to seek audience with another Burundian opposition leader, Leonard Nyangoma.
Silencing Opposition
Reverend Christopher Mtikila, chairman of the Democratic Party, said the arrest of Sinduhije shows that Tanzania does not want East Africans opposed to the leadership in their countries to cross into the country.
Mr Mtikila said that the arrest is part of a bid to silence the opposition in Burundi and other East Africans opposed to their governments. Sinduhije fled his country last year after disputed elections returned President Pierre Nkurunziza to power.
"The Liberty International Foundation will soon be petitioning the East African Community to have Burundi expelled from the community for failure to adhere to the democratic process," he said.
Rising violence in Burundi has sparked fears of a resumption of the civil conflict that claimed some 300,000 lives between 1993 and 2006.
More than 300 opposition members were victims of extrajudicial killings last year, according to a Burundian NGO.
The UN Security Council said 53 people were executed in Burundi between January and November 2011.
Posted Sunday, January 29 2012 at 17:41
Three confidential letters written by Burundi to help track and arrest Alexis Sinduhije have caused uproar after two top Tanzanian law enforcement officials were sued over the saga surrounding the Bujumbura politician.
The two, Inspector General of Police Saidi Mwema and Attorney General Frederick Werema, have now been given seven days to appear before Justice Lawrence Kaduri to answer charges of violating human rights and good governance.
Herbert Nyange, a lawyer for Sinduhije, has filed a case against two top law enforcers for failure to prosecute Sinduhije as the law requires that a suspect be tried within 24 hours after his arrest.
The development comes after the Burundi government said last week that it was Tanzanian security officers who arrested and detained the Burundi opposition leader when he entered Tanzania and that it had not asked for his arrest.
But three letters seen by The EastAfrican show Burundi had requested Tanzania help arrest, detain and hand over Sinduhije, the leader of Movement for Solidarity and Development.
The letters from the Burundian government through its embassy in Tanzania said that due to the fact that Tanzania is a friendly country, it was important to assist in arresting the official.
Another letter by the Burundian attorney-general requested the extradition of the opposition politician to face murder charges. He is accused of killing Dr Kassi Manlan from Ivory Coast, who was the head of the World Health Organisation's Burundi office and his servant Nzisabira and is also accused of participating in the Katumba massacre that took place in September 2011.
However, the Burundian government failed to lodge criminal charges against Sinduhije in the Tanzanian courts and the application for extradition to Burundi failed, with the the opposition politician being remanded for 14 days in the Central Police Station without criminal charges.
In his submission at the High Court of Tanzania, Mr Nyange said that the arrest of Sinduhije was illegal and a violation of his human rights. Sinduhije had arrived in the country from Kampala, Uganda to seek audience with another Burundian opposition leader, Leonard Nyangoma.
Silencing Opposition
Reverend Christopher Mtikila, chairman of the Democratic Party, said the arrest of Sinduhije shows that Tanzania does not want East Africans opposed to the leadership in their countries to cross into the country.
Mr Mtikila said that the arrest is part of a bid to silence the opposition in Burundi and other East Africans opposed to their governments. Sinduhije fled his country last year after disputed elections returned President Pierre Nkurunziza to power.
"The Liberty International Foundation will soon be petitioning the East African Community to have Burundi expelled from the community for failure to adhere to the democratic process," he said.
Rising violence in Burundi has sparked fears of a resumption of the civil conflict that claimed some 300,000 lives between 1993 and 2006.
More than 300 opposition members were victims of extrajudicial killings last year, according to a Burundian NGO.
The UN Security Council said 53 people were executed in Burundi between January and November 2011.
