Arusha terror ‘is beyond tourism, politics’

                                

                       Arusha/Dar es Salaam. Home Affairs minister Mathias Chikawe said yesterday that recurrent bomb attacks in Arusha were acts of terrorism as new details suggested that the perpetrators had a wider agenda than just targeting the tourism sector.

Speaking to The Citizen by telephone, Mr Chikawe was categorical that the attacks were not linked to politics.

“This is terrorism...the aim of these terrorists is to distrupt peace, to kill, to maim and cause terror in society...nothing else,” he said.

Meanwhile, a security analyst in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attacks in Arusha were “religiously motivated and are carrried out by extremists”.

“This is beyond tourism...it’s something that is driven by faith-based factors and people shouldn’t be misled into believing that the attacks target Western tourists,” he told The Citizen by telephone.

The source, who is familir with major security-related operations, said the motive was still not clear, although preliminary details show that they were being carried out by “extremists”.

On Monday, eight people were wounded, some seriously, when an explosive device was thrown into a popular restaurant in Arusha.

Police said on Tuesday that two people had been arrested in connection with the attack. No further details were given on the grounds that investigations were still going on.

NCCR-Mageuzi chairman James Mbatia said yesterday that it was the government’s responsibility to protect Tanzanians and their property.

Mr Mbatia, who is also a Nominated MP, said the government should get to the bottom of the recent string of bomb attacks in Arusha and other parts of the country and end the “madness” once and for all.

“People pay taxes to the government which, in turn, should protect them. The impression one gets is that the government is on leave as people continue to lose their lives...we can’t seen any concrete measures being taken,” he said.

The business community in Arusha urged the government to take urgent measures to address the fragile security situation in the town.