Court quashes Dr Slaa’s false information case

DAR ES SALAAM:  THE Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court has dismissed the case against veteran politician, Dr Willibrod Slaa (76) after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) informed the court that he had no intention of proceeding with the charges against him.

Dr Slaa had been facing a single charge of disseminating false information on the social media platform X formerly Twitter, an offense he was alleged to have committed on January 9, 2025, in Dar es Salaam.

The ruling was delivered on Thursday by Senior Resident Magistrate Franco Kiswaga, following a formal request from the prosecution to drop the case.

The case was dismissed under Section 91(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), Chapter 20, as revised in 2022.

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Before the dismissal, Senior State Attorneys Job Mrema and Clemence Kato informed the court that the DPP no longer wished to pursue the matter and requested that the case be withdrawn.

“We would like to inform this honourable court that, under Section 91(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, as revised in 2022, the prosecution, on behalf of the DPP, has no intention of proceeding with the case against Dr Slaa for the alleged offense as outlined in the charge sheet,” stated Mrema.

Magistrate Kiswaga granted the request under the mentioned legal provision and declared Dr Slaa a free man.

Additionally, the prosecution requested that their previous objection to bail for the accused be formally withdrawn.

“We request that it be recorded in the court records that the prosecution withdraws its earlier request opposing bail for Dr Slaa,” Mrema added.

Magistrate Kiswaga approved the request and officially removed the objection from the case records.

Dr Slaa was first arraigned in court on January 10, 2025, where he was formally charged under criminal case number 993 of 2025, before Senior Resident Magistrate Beda Nyaki.