Mr Robert Manumba
In Summary
- After serving the police for 37 years, seven of them as the Director of Criminal Investigations, Mr Robert Manumba leaves the force under intense criticism
Dar es Salaam. Mr Robert
Manumba, the director of criminal investigations (DCI) who retired early
last week after 37 years in the police force, leaves behind many
unsolved high-profile cases.
The soft-spoken officer who was, however, viewed as tough police boss was tasked with fighting crime seven years ago when he was appointed the DCI.
But he leaves the force being criticised for laxity in investigating high profile crimes such as abductions, torture, cybercrime and acid attacks.
Though fighting and preventing crimes is the task of the entire police, the man who was at the centre of investigations and arresting and prosecuting criminals faced a daunting task throughout his term. Criminals struck almost at will and kidnappers and killers rocked the nation, not to mention torturers.
Criminals appeared to be taunting the police when they killed Mwanza Regional Police Commander Liberatus Barlow in cold blood last year.
Organised crime ranging from banking fraud to cybercrimes also rocked the nation. Topping the list was the drug trafficking network that has made headlines in the past seven years, with no arrest of the big fish behind the illicit trade.
Recently, there were two attacks related to terrorism -- one in Arusha early this year when a bomb was hurled at worshippers in the compound of a Catholic Church and the second during a Chadema rally. The way police handled those attacks raised more questions than answers. The man at the centre of chasing and arresting the masterminds was none than Mr Manumba.
Some of the cases that Mr Manumba and his team failed to investigate thoroughly include the killings of Prof Jwani Mwaikusa, who was gunned down at his home at Salasala suburb in Mbezi Beach in 2011.
The killing of a senior CCM cadre in Mwanza City in mid-2010 raised queries too. The police arrested former Mayor Leonard Bihondo and handed him to the courts, where he was charged with murder. Some analysts believe the whole thing was a scheme hatched by the mayor’s political rivals.
Mr Bihondo, having languished in jail for about three years, was set free by the High Court in Mwanza last month.
And then there was the case involving the MV Nyamageni that capsized in Lake Victoria in 2006, killing 50 passengers.
Despite credible evidence that the ill-fated vessel had been banned from operating on Lake Victoria due to defects and serious technical problems, the DCI’s office failed to prosecute anyone, raising many questions about what really transpired. Then there was last year’s episode regarding who really kidnapped and brutally tortured Dr Steven Ulimboka.
Despite clues given to the police, no serious investigation was conducted.
To save face, police arrested a mentally ill person said to be from Kenya, Joshua Mulundi, and accused him of having kidnapped Dr Ulimboka. Mr Mulundi was later set free by a court in Dar es Salaam.
There is also the case of Absalom Kibanda, the chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum, who was beaten and tortured in March this year.
Mr Kibanda was attacked and seriously wounded outside his house in Mbezi Beach, Dar es Salaam.
The series of acid attacks in Zanzibar were also among the top crimes that haunted the police force during Mr Manumba’s tenure as chief crime buster.
The nation was also subject to rampant killings of albinos and the subsequent thriving trade in their body parts. Though numerous arrests were made, there were doubts as to whether the suspects who appeared in court cast doubt were the real culprits behind the deadly trade. Testimonies from suspects arrested showed that they were just middlemen acting on behalf of rich and influential individuals inside and outside the country. Still, there was no arrest of the big names suspected of being behind the albino body parts trade.
Between 2006 and 2012, a string of albino murders left 72 dead. The killings are believed to have been motivated by a lucrative trade in their body parts, which some Tanzanians believe possess magical powers.
For instance, a 2009 report of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies noted that the market for albino body parts was “generated by big-money buyers who use them as talismans to bring luck and, above all, wealth”.
According to senior police officers in Dar es Salaam, “a complete set of albino body parts -- including all four limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose -- was fetching the equivalent of $75,000”.
Last week, the immediate former DCI declined to comment, saying he was making the final touches on a number of commitments. “As of now, I cannot address the media because I am in series of meetings and other commitments,” he said in a telephone interview.
Mr Onesmo Olengurumwa of the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition said irregularities in conducting investigations marred Mr Manumba’s office and this may have resulted in laxity in the entire police force. “If you look at a series of events--starting from the killing of Channel Ten journalist Daudi Mwangosi to the abduction of Dr Ulimboka and the attack on New Habari (2006) Limited Editor Absalom Kibanda--it is evident that there was a weakness in the DCI’s office,” he said.
Should the entire police top brass be left untouched, Mr Olengurumwa added, whoever lands the job will ultimately fail.
The handling of his docket during his seven years as DC1 notwithstanding, Mr Manumba had his high moments in his37 years of service, rising from the rank of junior officer to the second most powerful man in the force.
The soft-spoken officer who was, however, viewed as tough police boss was tasked with fighting crime seven years ago when he was appointed the DCI.
But he leaves the force being criticised for laxity in investigating high profile crimes such as abductions, torture, cybercrime and acid attacks.
Though fighting and preventing crimes is the task of the entire police, the man who was at the centre of investigations and arresting and prosecuting criminals faced a daunting task throughout his term. Criminals struck almost at will and kidnappers and killers rocked the nation, not to mention torturers.
Criminals appeared to be taunting the police when they killed Mwanza Regional Police Commander Liberatus Barlow in cold blood last year.
Organised crime ranging from banking fraud to cybercrimes also rocked the nation. Topping the list was the drug trafficking network that has made headlines in the past seven years, with no arrest of the big fish behind the illicit trade.
Recently, there were two attacks related to terrorism -- one in Arusha early this year when a bomb was hurled at worshippers in the compound of a Catholic Church and the second during a Chadema rally. The way police handled those attacks raised more questions than answers. The man at the centre of chasing and arresting the masterminds was none than Mr Manumba.
Some of the cases that Mr Manumba and his team failed to investigate thoroughly include the killings of Prof Jwani Mwaikusa, who was gunned down at his home at Salasala suburb in Mbezi Beach in 2011.
The killing of a senior CCM cadre in Mwanza City in mid-2010 raised queries too. The police arrested former Mayor Leonard Bihondo and handed him to the courts, where he was charged with murder. Some analysts believe the whole thing was a scheme hatched by the mayor’s political rivals.
Mr Bihondo, having languished in jail for about three years, was set free by the High Court in Mwanza last month.
And then there was the case involving the MV Nyamageni that capsized in Lake Victoria in 2006, killing 50 passengers.
Despite credible evidence that the ill-fated vessel had been banned from operating on Lake Victoria due to defects and serious technical problems, the DCI’s office failed to prosecute anyone, raising many questions about what really transpired. Then there was last year’s episode regarding who really kidnapped and brutally tortured Dr Steven Ulimboka.
Despite clues given to the police, no serious investigation was conducted.
To save face, police arrested a mentally ill person said to be from Kenya, Joshua Mulundi, and accused him of having kidnapped Dr Ulimboka. Mr Mulundi was later set free by a court in Dar es Salaam.
There is also the case of Absalom Kibanda, the chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum, who was beaten and tortured in March this year.
Mr Kibanda was attacked and seriously wounded outside his house in Mbezi Beach, Dar es Salaam.
The series of acid attacks in Zanzibar were also among the top crimes that haunted the police force during Mr Manumba’s tenure as chief crime buster.
The nation was also subject to rampant killings of albinos and the subsequent thriving trade in their body parts. Though numerous arrests were made, there were doubts as to whether the suspects who appeared in court cast doubt were the real culprits behind the deadly trade. Testimonies from suspects arrested showed that they were just middlemen acting on behalf of rich and influential individuals inside and outside the country. Still, there was no arrest of the big names suspected of being behind the albino body parts trade.
Between 2006 and 2012, a string of albino murders left 72 dead. The killings are believed to have been motivated by a lucrative trade in their body parts, which some Tanzanians believe possess magical powers.
For instance, a 2009 report of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies noted that the market for albino body parts was “generated by big-money buyers who use them as talismans to bring luck and, above all, wealth”.
According to senior police officers in Dar es Salaam, “a complete set of albino body parts -- including all four limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose -- was fetching the equivalent of $75,000”.
Last week, the immediate former DCI declined to comment, saying he was making the final touches on a number of commitments. “As of now, I cannot address the media because I am in series of meetings and other commitments,” he said in a telephone interview.
Mr Onesmo Olengurumwa of the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition said irregularities in conducting investigations marred Mr Manumba’s office and this may have resulted in laxity in the entire police force. “If you look at a series of events--starting from the killing of Channel Ten journalist Daudi Mwangosi to the abduction of Dr Ulimboka and the attack on New Habari (2006) Limited Editor Absalom Kibanda--it is evident that there was a weakness in the DCI’s office,” he said.
Should the entire police top brass be left untouched, Mr Olengurumwa added, whoever lands the job will ultimately fail.
The handling of his docket during his seven years as DC1 notwithstanding, Mr Manumba had his high moments in his37 years of service, rising from the rank of junior officer to the second most powerful man in the force.
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