In what appears to be fear of embarrassment, Tanzania President Dr John Pombe Magufuli is said to have abducted one of his fiercest of critics after suspecting he may ruin his rally.
Mdude Nyagali, who is a software trader and a social media influencer, was abducted by a group of masked men believed to be police officers.
The four abductors took Mdude from his shop at Vwawa, Mbozi District, in Songwe Region, using two cars.
“This incident follows an order from above, and Mdude may not be back because the hijackers’ motive is to silence him once and for all. They want to remain unknown but everyone knows who they are and where they are from,” an anonymous informer told Sauti Kuwa.
When relatives and friends went to a local police station to file reports, the police refused to file an official report about his abduction, saying they did not know about it.
This comes a few days after a ruling party zealot openly threatened Mdude’s life on his Facebook page saying “your days are numbered.”
“Mdude, your days are numbered. Soon, you will join your colleague Tundu Lissu,” wrote Abusadik Banzi Banzi
Lissu is Member of Parliament for Singida East who survived an assassination attempt on September 7, 2017.
The President who is in a tour in the region is thought to have ordered his ‘arrest’ to avoid embarrassments from him.
Mdude responded to the threat terming him as “a 34-year old stalwart of the ruling party (CCM), resident of Elera ward in Arusha Municipality, who has been personifying as a security operative of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS).”
Magufuli has been on the spotlight since his election for using the police force to abduct and torture his political enemies in a bid to silence them.
The most recent to undergo his wrath include billionaire Mohammed Dewji who was abducted and later released. Others include activist Ben Saanane and journalist Azory Gwanda, who are still missing since 2016 and 2017, respectively.