Three female university students from Tanzania have been arrested for mocking his Excellency President John pombe Magufuli. The learners from Kampala International University were accused of sharing photos of President Magufuli wearing a hijab (an item of clothing for Muslim women) in Whatsapp groups.
On Thursday, July 11, 2019, a detective from the cybercrimes investigation department at the Police Headquarters in Dar es Salaam told Ilala District Court that he had interrogated the three students and they conceded to have disseminated the photos.
A witness from the prosecution side said he was instructed by his Inspector to go to Kampala University where a student had posted the picture, showing President Magufuli as wearing a hijab, on a Human Resource Management WhatsApp group. Upon questioning one of the culprits, Amenitha Konga, she admitted that she was aware of the photo and confessed that she had posted it.
“When we went there, we met the dean of students, Mr Herman Frank. We told him why we were there and he agreed that the mentioned students were indeed studying at the university. He brought them before us. When Amenitha was asked where she got the photo, she said she got it from another WhatsApp group known as ‘Empire’ where it was posted by her colleague, Maria Twelve,” the witness said.
Maria was interrogated later and she said she got the photo from Business Administration WhatsApp group after it was posted there by Agnes Gabriel who said she got the picture from St Mary’s Ulete WhatsApp group but could not remember who actually posted it there.
The three students were are jointly accused that on June 9, 2016, they published false information through computer technology while in Dar es Salaam, and the case was adjourned to July 22 and 23.