The residents of Loliondo who were facing murder charges following chaos that erupted in the Game Controlled Area, have been acquitted by the Court in Arusha.
On 30 June 2022 the Criminal Case Number 11 of 2022 was filed against 24 residents of Loliondo Division, among them 9 Ward Councilors.
State Prosecutor, Upendo Shemkole told the Court Presided by the Resident Magistrate Herieth Mhenga that the Director of Public Prosecution had no intention to pursue the case further.
The preciously accused persons were charged with the murder of a Police Officer who died during the skirmish which occurred in the Ngorongoro District in June 2022.
A Police officer Corporal Garlus Mwita was allegedly pierced by an arrow on 10 June 2020.
It was during the time when chaos erupted in the Ololosokwan Village following the exercise to demarcate the 1500 square kilometers of land that was reportedly being set aside for conservation in Loliondo.
The beacon planting exercise was meant to fenced off an area which is now being gazetted as the Pololeti Game Reserve.
The policeman died on the spot and was airlifted from Loliondo area to his home village in Musoma District of Mara Region.
Loliondo Division of Ngorongoro District, where the chaos occurred, happens to border the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
Following the clashes, a group of Loliondo residents, mostly Maasai leaders, were arrested on 9 June when they were summoned for talks with the area district commissioner.
They were accused of inciting the community into chaos, arrested and transferred to Arusha, where they were detained before being arraigned in court.
On 16 June, the accused were brought before a court and charged with murder, along with 10 others.
Following the court’s decision to drop the case, the defendants’ lawyers, led by Advocate Jebra Kambole stated that they will assist their clients should they want to file case demanding compensations for damages and soiled reputations.
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