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A police commander in the Tanzanian capital of Dodoma has been removed from his post over controversial comments linking an alleged gang rape victim to sex work.
Earlier this month, a video showing a young woman being attacked went viral online, sparking an outcry in the East African country.
On Monday, the four men denied charges of assault.
The police commander in the capital, Dodoma, said in a statement on Sunday Tanzania Newspapers He also said that “the woman involved in the case seemed to be engaged in sex work.”
The Tanzanian National Police Force apologized and said its commander had been transferred following a backlash and accusations that the comments downplayed the woman’s experience.
“Police are monitoring the accuracy of the statement and apologize to all those who were triggered and offended by the statement circulated in the media,” national police spokesman David Misime said Monday.
Mr Msime added that Dodoma regional commander Theopista Mallya, in an interview with local newspaper Mwananchi, said even if the woman was a sex worker “she should not be treated like this”.
Those words did not appear in Mwananchi’s report – the BBC has contacted the newspaper for comment.
Responding to Mwananchi’s report, lawyer Peter Madeleka said on social media platform X that Ms Mallya’s comments were “evidence of police abuse of women’s rights”.
Fatma Karume, a lawyer and prominent activist, also expressed outrage at X, writing: “Don’t people who sell themselves get raped in this country?”
The video shows the woman being raped and the suspect allegedly interrogating her and forcing her to apologize to a man known as “Avand”.
In Tanzania, “afande” is often used to refer to soldiers or police officers, so many activists and social media users expressed anger that the sexual assaults were ordered by members of the security forces.
“Investigations revealed that the youths were not acting on the orders of any police officer, they were just under the influence of alcohol and drugs,” Mallya told Mwananchi.
“However, the woman appeared to be engaged in sex work,” she said.
Following a public backlash over Ms Mallya’s comments, the Tanzania National Police Service said she had been transferred to police headquarters, but it was not clear whether that was temporary or permanent.
It is unclear when the online video was filmed, but the victim was reportedly a resident of Yombo Dovya, a suburb of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city.
Four suspects appeared in court on Monday afternoon, charged with gang rape and performing an unnatural act.
According to local media reports, none of the men have pleaded guilty and will remain in police custody.
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