Police
are holding seven people in connection with the killing of the former
CCM Mwanza chairman and Kisesa Ward Councillor, Mr Clement Mabina.
The
arrest of suspects brought panic in Kisesa and Kanyama areas where the
Mabina was killed on Sunday by an angry mob allegedly because of a land
dispute.
Mwanza
Regional Police Commander Valentino Mulowola, however, declined to name
the suspects, pointing out that divulging their identities could
disrupt ongoing investigations that sought to expose the actual killers
and the motive behind their action.
Heightened
police activity in the two areas resulted in fear as the law keepers
have vowed to leave no stone unturned until they nail the killers.
At
Kisesa, where the late Mabina lived, his neighbours and members of the
family expressed their disappointment at the way the media, especially
the social networks, reported his death.
Family
spokesman Timothy Gregory said Mabina’s death was reported with a
political slant, unfairly branding the deceased political leader as an
oppressor and a land grabber.
‘‘His
death has been turned into a political agenda meant to tarnish his
image and that of the ruling party,’’ claimed a family member who did
not wish to be named.
His
family further claimed that those who killed Mabina were hired to block
him from vying for a high political post in the 2015 General Election.
The
family and some eyewitnesses at Kisesa and Kanyama shrugged off claims
that the mob killed Mabina after he shot dead a 12-year-old child.
‘‘He
didn’t kill him; rather, his gun went off on its own as an angry crowd
chased him, baying for his blood; he never aimed a gun at anyone as
claimed in some reports,’’ they said.
Mr Mulowola said Mabina was found with a shotgun and a pistol, but did not say whether the firearms had ammunition.
The
family spokesman said it was too early give the date of the burial as
the family was waiting for the police report on the killing and the
arrival in Mwanza of key members of the family.