Deputy minister for Works, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe
By Mkinga Mkinga,
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Mysteries surrounding the health condition of the deputy minister for Works, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, took a new twist as police questioned six people.
The Police launched investigations aiming at establishing whether claims that the deputy Works minister’s illness resulted from deliberate poisoning were true.
Dr Mwakyembe was flown to India about three weeks ago after his health condition deteriorated due to an illness, which was yet to be disclosed neither by him or the doctors treating him.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), an arm of the Police Force, is said to have decided to dig into the widespread rumours claiming that poisoning could be the cause of Dr Mwakyembe’s illness.
Talking to The Citizen on condition of anonymity because he is not the spokesman of the police, a senior police CID officer said at least six people have been questioned so far.
“Our questioning them does not mean they are suspects, we’re just looking for information to help us create the bigger picture and establish whether there is anything worth pursuing in the rumours,” said the source.
The source said that the Police Force has decided not to ignore the rumours especially because, several months back, Dr Mwakyembe had reported to the law enforcement organ of receiving threats over his life.
He said since April when Dr Mwakyembe reported about the threats, the police has managed to obtain several leads, which he declined to divulge.
He said the deputy minister gave them a list of people whom he was suspecting, therefore, “making it easy for us to have a starting point”.
The deputy director of Criminal Investigations, Samson Kasala, who told a press conference yesterday at the Police Headquarters in Dar es Salaam about investigations on reports that Dr Mwakyembe’s illness resulted from poisoning, confirmed these police activities.
But he said they would also need scientific proofs to make them conclude categorically that the Kyela Member of Parliament was indeed poisoned.
“We want to obtain some scientific proofs from the doctors who attended to or are still attending Dr Mwakyembe. Only then shall we be in a position to take our investigations further,” Mr Kasala said.
Mr Kasala said they would also need to question Dr Mwakyembe himself for them to establish the truth of the matter.
He also said that even though doctors took oaths not to divulge health information to any third parties, the police would look into what the law says when such information is crucial to investigation of a crime.
Mr Kasala said that other security organs would also be involved as more information is sought after. “We cannot rely on mere words only… after justification from medical doctors we’ll be in the better position on how best to continue,” he said.
Dr Mwakyembe was flown to India early this month when his health condition deteriorated following what was reported to be some kind of skin malady.
Among people who have publicly hinted that Dr Mwakyembe might have been poisoned, who is his close ally, was the minister for East African Cooperation and former National Assembly Speaker, Mr Samuel Sitta.
Speaking in an interview with a local television station recently, Mr Sitta said he had never seen a person’s skin disintegrating in the manner in which Dr Mwakyembe’s was doing.
However, Mr Kasala could not say if Mr Sitta was among those interviewed in the course of the investigations.
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