The family of Pius Mpweza, a former aide to politician Humphrey Polepole, has reported him missing, saying he failed to return home on Thursday night and did not report to work the following day.
Speaking to reporters on Friday evening in Kigamboni, his sister, Suzan Mpweza, said the family had grown concerned after repeated attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful.
“Pius had told us and his colleagues that he was planning to meet journalists today to respond to recent remarks made by Mr. Polepole,” she said.
Suzan alleged that before his disappearance, her brother had complained of receiving frequent phone calls from Mr. Polepole, which he declined to answer.
She further claimed that Pius received a text message from Mr. Polepole warning him to stop commenting publicly about him or risk disappearing.
According to Suzan, Pius shared the alleged message with colleagues and family members as a precaution. “He made it clear that if anything happened to him, Mr. Polepole should be the one questioned,” she added.
When he failed to turn up at his workplace on Friday morning, colleagues went to the family home in Kigamboni, where they learned that he had not returned the previous night.
The family has since called on Mr. Polepole to clarify the whereabouts of Pius within 24 hours. “If he does not come forward, we will release the text message and audio recordings of the calls Pius received,” Suzan said.
By press time, authorities had not issued an official statement on the matter, and efforts to obtain comment from Mr. Polepole were unsuccessful.