Police probe report into the alleged crimes against students at the Institute of Finance Management (IFM) hostels at Kigamboni in Dar es Salaam, has controversially claimed that there are no such boarding houses in the area.
This is in accordance to the report read out by the Temeke Regional Police Commander, Englibert Kiondo, at the weekend.
The students who were part of the 13 member probe team dubbed “Joint Operation Intelligence and In vestigation (JOII)” have expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the report and complained that the police have released the report in their absence against agreed course of action.
IFM students’ organization (IFMSO) prime minister Daniel Sarungi explaining the reason for their displeasure said:
“We were supposed to be the main audience during the unveiling of the report because we (students) are the victims of the crimes….”
He argued that their participation during the release of the report was of great significance because, according to him, they would be in a position to question or comment on the report.
Nonetheless he confessed not to have had the chance to thoroughly read the entire report yet, but argued that, so far he is aware that the report contentiously claims there are no hostels in the said area.
“This is not true because the probe team identified private hostels used by students and where crime was taking place…,” asserted the student leader.
He however admitted that, the identified hostels are not recognized by government and are also not owned by their college, raising the question as to whether the government and the college has any responsibility over students’ security in these private hostels.
Lucy Mwanga, one of the students, also reported deficiencies in the report and announced that the students’ team will be meeting today to review the report thoroughly and make recommendations as to the way forward.
“We are planning to meet tomorrow (today) to go through the report, identify the shortfalls and come up with the way forward…,” she said.
A member of the JOII team, Musa Ndille, also expressed shock as to the release of the report in their absence.
“We don’t accept the report because we were not at the release…,” he asserted.
Another student who preferred anonymity complained that police have not provided any solutions to the problems facing the students living in Kigamboni with the report saying nothing of any action to be taken by them to ensure students’ safety.
“This means that the report gives a green light to the thugs to continue raiding students … we expected that they would at least say how they are going to provide us with security…,” he lamented.
Releasing the report on Saturday, RPC Kiondo said the probe team has found evidence that is in contrast to the students’ claims.
“There are no rapes … they made the allegations in to justify their demonstration …,” claimed the RPC.
He reported that the force reviewed the gender desks at police posts in the area and found not a single reported case of sexual abuse or any form of assault.
Further, police claim that, inquiry at the hospitals also proved vain and turned up no reports.
In fact, the police claim that even when they asked the students to come forward and report any such occurrences none of them did so.
The report also asserts that the students do not even live in the hostels they claimed they did but rather rent out private rooms like regular tenants and that they themselves have entertained the risky environment.
Additionally, the police report denies the students’ claim that the force was negligent of their reports and that the known student cases are already in court while others are under investigation. The report did not specify these ‘known’ cases.
Finally, the report proposes a course of action, unlike the student claim that it did not. The report advises the IFM administration to, provide safe and secure accommodation for its students and not to leave them to fend for themselves in such crime prone areas.
January this year, IFM students marched to the Ministry of Home Affairs protesting a wave of crimes at hostels in Kigamboni area.
The students claimed that the force had failed to take action against bandits terrorising them despite the fact that they had reported the incidents.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
