Assist harassed widow, IGP Said Mwema directs

Inspector General of Police Said Mwema has ordered Arusha Regional Police Commander to handle with care a case where a widow is alleged to have been harassed by her two in-laws out to make her give up control

By Adam Ihucha, Arusha

Inspector General of Police Said Mwema has ordered Arusha Regional Police Commander Basilio Matei to handle with care a case where a widow of Asian origin, Tasneem Taibali Lamuwalla, is alleged to have been harassed by her two in-laws out to make her give up control over her late husband`s investments.

In a March 23, 2007 letter with reference number C.13/100/VOL.III/71, the IGP states that the widow charges that her in-laws have forged documents in an attempt to acquire her late husbands estate.

This widow has been coming here for some time now, charging that junior police officers in Arusha handling her case surprisingly have been siding with the accused persons in order to harass her, the IGP says in the letter, a copy of which has been availed to The Guardian.

Please handle this issue in person, taking into account that this is a sensitive matter.

Make sure that all documents alleged to have been forged by the accused persons are sent to an Identification Bureau (IB) in Dar es Salaam for re-verification with immediate effect, Mwema adds in the letter, signed on his behalf by Police headquarters Director for Operations and Training Commissioner Chagonja.

Lamuwalla is the widow of Taibali Anverali Lamuwalla, an Arusha businessman who died in a suspicious road accident in 1995.

She has since found herself fighting all alone for her husband`s assets.

In an earlier letter addressed to Director of Criminal Investigation Robert Manumba, she said the last 12 years have seen the estate become a bone of contention between her and the deceased`s brothers and a source of controversy that has baffled even the local authorities.

The widow, who holds 191 out of the 200 shares in Shahins Limited located along downtown Arusha city`s Sokoine Road, says her in-laws have been repeatedly harassing and intimidating her so that she surrenders control of the establishment.

She adds that one of her in-laws, a former employee of the Arusha-based Shahin`s, has forged documents purporting to show him as the firm`s director.

The company owns shops, stores and warehouses here and in Dar es Salaam.

It is also alleged that the in-law, being a brother to Shahins late managing director Taibali, found it very easy taking over the company after the latter 1995 accident death.

As a result, the widow was has literally been at the crafty in-law`s mercy for since over the firms ownership.

The widow submits that she and her only child, a son aged 11, are living in constant fear for their lives since they have been receiving a series of threats meant to force them to give up ownership of the company.

A former teacher in various schools in Arusha, Tasneem was forced to give up her teaching career in order to deal with the dispute.

She said unidentified people have been keeping watch over the operations of her late husband`s property, including the Arusha branch of Shahin`s, and have been tailing her wherever she goes.

It is reported that police once sent two of their detectives to intercept a taxi with (registration number withheld) hat was pursuing the widow and her family around the city and arrested two suspects.

Police are also understood to have several other case files in connection with incidents related to the saga, including forgery and an attempt to break into Shahins store.

I am very grateful for the job well done by Arusha RPC Basilio Matei and Regional Criminal Investigation Officer Faustine Shilogile but somehow, somewhere, maybe due to the huge responsibilities shouldered to them, the investigation of my case has taken too long to complete, reads part of Tasneems letter to DCI Manumba.

She adds: It is not my wish to lose my confidence in police here due to the fact that they have always been supportive to me whenever I face them, but my cases investigation delay has caused an intolerable loss in my life.

Contacted for comment, one of the in-laws who identified himself as Juzer confirmed that there had been a bitter row between him and his sister-in-law over the ownership and control of the late businessmans estate.

He admitted that the widow had the right to inherit her husband`s investments but maintained that it was impossible for her to take over everything as she demands.

But, on the other hand, this is typically a family matter and it is supposed to be handled at the family level or else at our community level, an emphatic Juzer stated.

Source: Guardian