Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Tanzania's Court of Appeal has rejected a legal challenge by prosecutors questioning last year's High Court decision to hear the bail application filed by detained opposition leaders.

The Court of Appeal, also referred to as the country's Supreme Court, ruled on Friday that the argument presented by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has no merit, and that the High Court can proceed with the bail hearing of Freeman Mbowe and his co-accused and fellow parliament member, Esther Matiko.

Mbowe, the national chairman of Chadema party, and Matiko, who serves as treasurer of the party's women's wing, have been detained since November last year.

181210110707732

Prosecutors led by state attorney, Faraja Nchimbi, argued before the appeals court that High Court Judge Sam Rumanyika had erred when he quashed their objection against the bail hearing in November.
They challenged the judge's interpretation of a section of the Criminal Procedures Act 1985 which governs the appeals against a subordinate court's decisions.
Judge Rumanyika ruled that prosecutors had no valid arguments and summoned all relevant files on the case proceedings from the subordinate court in order to carry on the hearing.
The hearing was put on hold following the prosecutors' appeal, until the three-judge bench at the superior court ruled on the matter on Friday.
Under Tanzania's constitution and judicial system, a ruling by the Court of Appeal cannot be challenged.
When the hearing resumes, the court will be able to determine whether Mbowe and Matiko are entitled to  bail.
Safari said he was thankful to the court of appeal for its decision and that his panel of lawyers were going to write to the high court to request a hearing date.
Opposition leader Mbowe has been involved in a legal battle with the prosecutors for bail since the Dar es Salaam resident magistrate court cancelled it.
The Kisutu court's decision on November 23 was based on allegations that Mbowe and Matiko had contravened the bail conditions by travelling outside the country without the court's approval.

181115181202392

As a result, the prosecutors asked the court to cancel Mbowe's bail after he failed to appear in court on two occasions.
By travelling outside the country, the duo also failed to honour the mandatory reporting to the Ilala district police station in Dar es Salaam.
Mbowe and eight other opposition leaders, including Vincent Mashinji and Salum Mwalim, are facing 13 counts, including sedition and unlawful assembly, allegedly committed in Dar es Salaam in February last year.
The hearing regarding other politicians charged in the case is still on at Kisutu court.
Apart from this case, other key opposition leaders are also facing various charges, mainly sedition and incitement to violence.
Recently, two opposition legislators, Suzan Kiwanga and Peter Lijualikali, were remanded for several days in custody after their bails were denied.
Lijualikali was released in March, 2017 after the leader successfully appealed against a six-month jail sentence by the district court in Morogoro.
Another opposition legislator, Joseph Mbilinyi, stayed in prison for nearly three months between February and May, 2018 following a five-month sentence in jail for insulting President Joseph Magufuli.Source: aljazeera.com