.gif)
My reader, you might ask yourself: why is Mwanakwetu talking about lawyer Phidelis Mwidunda? In truth, this document of mine that was submitted to the Appeals Board was prepared by Mr. Peter Pinda, a very honorable man. At the stage of gathering evidence, I am 100% certain of that, and even in drafting it from the initial stages to the end.
I believe that when it was being finalized, Mr. Peter Pinda involved lawyer Phidelis Mwidunda.
I believe that this involvement was only through phone communication. If the honorable man had not told me to deliver him a copy, I would not have known that this person participated in preparing that document.
That is to say, in all honesty before God, Lawyer Mwidunda did not question me at all, nor did he meet with Ibrahim Liguo, Atanas Luis, Hamisi Ramadhani (Rashidi Kazyoba), Edgar Chibula, Wille John, Emmanuel Yesaya, and others who are still alive to this day.
Since, my reader, in the previous text I spoke a little about this government lawyer, allow me to say a bit more about him.
This man was born in Kiwele(Kiwere Village), in a hamlet known as Mapinduzi, in Iringa Rural District, Iringa Region, as I found out when I went there in 2006 collecting information about him.
If you reach Iringa town heading toward Mkwawa University, there is a road that goes down into the valley—that is the road leading to Mapinduzi-Kiwele.
Politically, I believe that area falls under the Kalenga constituency and not Isimani.
I found this village to be very
poor, with people cultivating beans, maize, tobacco, and even rice in the
valley. At that time, they had one primary school where this lawyer studied,
and one newly built secondary school, as well as a dispensary.
The village is inhabited mostly by the Hehe and Bena people.
The distance from the primary school, secondary school, and dispensary to the home of Lawyer Mwidunda’s father was about a 20-minute walk.
From my research, I found that he performed very well in both his Ordinary Level and Advanced Level studies. At the University of Dar es Salaam, where he studied law, he also performed very well. Even at the University of Malta–Italy, where he pursued a master’s degree in maritime law, he excelled greatly.
The court has one major quality—it preserves records of major cases. Among the significant cases in which this man represented the government well was the appeal of the wife of the late Imrani Kombe. The woman requested a large sum of money as compensation, while the government proposed she be paid, I believe, 200 million shillings after her husband’s killing so she could support her family, whereas she had requested 500 million.
I believe the court accepted the government’s proposal.
Lawyers reading this text can correct me where I may be mistaken.
Therefore, my appeal was prepared by true experts in law. Even Mr. Peter Pinda is extremely formidable in legal matters, although he has a habit of acting as if he is not an expert (he is a humble person).
You might say this Tambaza case was small—why did Mwanakwetu invest so much effort in explaining it?
Mwanakwetu, understand that a case is just a case; its outcomes—winning or
losing—have great impacts on human life.
If Phidelis Mwidunda had not participated in preparing these documents, I would not have remembered him at all today.
Let me offer advice to lawyers: do not underestimate any case brought to you by your client. Handle it with all your heart and all your ability. Understand that tomorrow exists, and only God knows what tomorrow holds.
Also, a small case from a client may bring you a client with a much bigger case.
He could have told Mr. Peter to ignore them—that the Tambaza students were just hooligans, marijuana smokers—but they did not do that.
Unfortunately, today Phidelis Mwidunda’s eyes, ears, and body rest in the graves of his home in Mapinduzi-Kiwele, Iringa Region, as he passed away in 2003. I know this text may be read by his children, relatives, and the Wanyalukolo people of Iringa Rural. May God bless them abundantly.
For today, I lay down my pen here.
May God grant eternal peace to the soul of the late Phidelis Mwidunda. Amen.
makwadeladius@gmail.com
0717649257
.gif)
Post a Comment