Bugging device in Slaa's hotel room
By Orton Kiishweko, Dodoma
There was drama in Dodoma when gadgets believed to be bugging devices
were found on Thursday night in the hotel rooms of Chadema
Secretary-General Willibrod Slaa and another opposition MP, both of
whom are attending the current parliamentary session.
It was not immediately clear who might have been behind the covert
operation and what their real intentions might have been, though the
police, who were called immediately, said they had launched investigations.
The other MP targeted by the unknown people who planted the high tech
devices in the rooms is the Civic United Front (CUF) representative
for Konde, Dr Ali Tarab Ali.
The outspoken Karatu MP, Dr Slaa, his Konde counterpart and several
other lawmakers are staying at Hotel 56, located just a few metres
from the Parliament complex.
Police, led by Dodoma regional crime officer, Mr Salum Msangi,
arrived at the scene on being informed about the curious discovery
and immediately searched the other MPs' rooms but found no such
devices. When journalists arrived at the scene, they found Dodoma
police chief Msangi and the hotel workers.
He then asked Dr Slaa if he had called the journalists, to which the
outspoken MP replied: "They are just doing their work and you?re also
free to do yours."
After examining the two devices, Mr Msangi told journalists that he
could not immediately establish what they were. He said he needed
time to study them in order to establish what they were.
Speaking to reporters, whom he had called to witness the incident in
his room at around midnight, Dr Slaa said he had received a
"mysterious" phone call earlier in the day, warning him about the gadgets.
He said he had ignored the caller and continued with his daily
activities, including attending a meeting of the Parliamentary
Committee on Security.
The committee is investigating Dr Slaa's recent allegation that Home
Affairs minister Lawrence Masha interfered with the tendering process
to choose a company to undertake the Sh200 billion National Identity
Cards project.
The opposition MP said he had returned to his hotel room after 10pm,
and decided to check for the devices he had been warned about. He
said he did not find anything at first. However, he informed Dr Ali,
whose room is adjacent to his about the strange call he had received
earlier in the day.
The two politicians then teamed up and scoured Dr Slaa's room
together for any suspicious objects and were stunned to find what
looked like recording gadgets tucked under the mattress.
Alarmed, Dr Ali, also suspecting that he might also have been
targeted, checked in his room. And to his shock, he unearthed a
similar gadget, also hidden under his mattress.
It was then that the two, who stay in Rooms 101 and 102, notified the
police, the hotel management and journalists. Yesterday, Dodoma was
buzzing with conspiracy talk, following the discovery of what may
have been an attempt to record anything said in the two MPs' rooms.
This is the second incident involving Dr Slaa since the beginning of
the current parliamentary session. The MP said he had received a gift
of a bottle of wine and a card, but on examining it, noticed that the
top had been tempered with. He did not open and drink the wine.
Speaking to reporters after the discovery of the recording device in
his room, Dr Slaa said: "I have read widely about bugging and I know,
how these devices work."
The hotel management said they did not know anything about the
devices and how they had found their way into the MPs' rooms. A hotel
supervisor, who would not disclose his name, said they usually clean
the rooms only on Sundays and no visitors are allowed into the hotel
without invitation.
As police have not given any information besides confirming that they
are investigating the issue, some MPs and other people were heard
speculating on who might be behind the incident.
A puzzled Dr Ali alleged that a similar device was once found in a
hotel room in which the Leader of the opposition in Parliament, Mr
Hamad Rashid Mohammed, was staying but they did think much about what
it was all about and just threw it away.
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:19 CST