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Tanzania to arrest entire village over broken water pipe

Thursday August 16 2018
wora

Plumbers fix a burst water pipe along Kisumu- Kakamega road, Kenya, on February 15, 2018. Tanzanian police plans to arrest all the residents of a village in the country's south after water pipes were destroyed by a mob. PHOTO | ONDARI OGEGA | NATION

By AFP

Tanzanian police said Thursday it planned to arrest all the residents of a village in the country's south after water pipes were destroyed by a mob.

The inhabitants of Ngolo village were accused of deliberately smashing pipes taking water to a neighbouring settlement in Mbeya region.

Governor Albert Chalamila had on Wednesday, "ordered that all the inhabitants of this village be arrested regardless of their condition."

In response, police on Thursday deployed several vehicles and officers to arrest the villagers, said regional commander Ulrich Matei.

"They committed economic sabotage. The government has disbursed money, installed water pipes and they destroyed them! We cannot accept that," Matie said.

The police chief added that he had sent "enough vehicles, with enough fuel and police on board" to arrest the villagers.

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Details about the incident remain scanty, but the village, whose population is around 1,600, lies in an area where water resources are scrace.

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