Death threats on Mara victims’ doctor gets death threatened

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Anthony Mayunga, The Citizen Correspondent

The doctor who conducted a post-mortem on villagers who were shot by the police at the North Mara Gold Mine has reportedly received threatening phone messages.

On May 23, Dr Grayson Nyakarungu from Mwanza - on behalf of the victims’ families - supervised a post-mortem on four out of five people who were shot by the police while attempting to invade the mine.

Speaking to The Citizen, Dr Nyakarungu said on May 26 he received a mobile phone text message which read: “Those reports are not for political consumption… stop getting involved in the matter… Tundu Lissu is using you for his personal political gain… if you don’t stop after this warning, we shall deal with you… wait to give your evidence in court but remember how Kolimba and Amina ended.”

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Bumper entry for Mwanza cycling meet

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Fadhil Iddy, The Citizen Correspondent

Over 130 cyclists from six regions across the country have so far confirmed their participation in the Lake Zone cycling championship scheduled for next month in Mwanza. Mwanza Regional Cycling Association (MRCA) secretary general Lucas Mpilipili yesterday named the regions as Shinyanga, Kagera, Mara, Tabora and hosts Mwanza.

He told The Citizen by phone from Mwanza that the door was still open for other cyclists wishing to compete in the 120km event.“June 5 is the deadline for cyclists to confirm their participation in the championship,” said Mpilipili, adding that preparations for the event were in top gear.

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16 killed, dozens injured in bus smash

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Frederick Katulanda, The Citizen Correspondent

Sixteen people were killed and 60 others injured yesterday when two buses collided in Geita District. The 9.20am accident in Kibingo Village involved a Bunda Transport Company bus travelling to Bukoba from Mwanza and another, christened Sheraton Express, heading to Shinyanga from Biharamulo District, according to Geita Disttict Commissioner Philemon Shelutete.

He said preliminary investigations had established that carelessness on the part of one of the drivers caused the accident.“One of the drivers carelessly attempted to overtake a lorry at a blind spot, leading to a head-on collision with the bus that was travelling in the opposite direction…he did not bother to observe a basic road safety rule,” Mr Shelutete said.

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