This archive report was first published on 5 December 2019.
On December 5, 2019, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was urged to respond to a plea bargain request from detained Tanzanian journalist Erick Kabendera's defence counsel.
According to a court hearing at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam, Kabendera's lawyer, Jebra Kambole, expressed frustration that no progress had been made since October 2019, when they wrote to the DPP and informed the court about the plea bargain request.
State attorney Ester Martin acknowledged that two months had passed since the journalist initiated the plea bargain process, but suggested that Kabendera or his defence counsel should follow up with the relevant officer to know the progress made.
The trial was adjourned until December 18, 2019, for mention, with Kabendera facing charges of organised crime, failure to pay taxes, and money laundering, which he has denied.
