Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) has confirmed that it is looking for a senior official who has deserted the army, dismissing allegations that he had escaped to Rwanda.
The deserter, Lieutenant Colonel Celestine Seromba, whose whereabouts are yet to be known, skipped the army in December last year, according to TPFD spokesperson, major Erick Komba.
Major Komba said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Seromba, whom he noted hails from Bukoba, was to face a court martial for unspecified misconduct prior to his escape.
Media reports this week claimed the deserting officer escaped with crucial documents that could jeopardise the country’s security.
But Major Komba yesterday dismissed the reports saying the rank of the missing officer “was too junior to access confidential TPDF documents.” A Lieutenant Colonel is a rank above that of Major.
“Immediately after we launched investigations over his misconduct in the army, we took all the equipment and all our important documents, what he can only do now, if at all, is to establish a college and teach people who are interested in Information Technology (IT) career,” he said.
There have been reports that Lt. Col. Seromba was TPDF’s head of IT department which handles all crucial classified documents of the army, the assertions that were categorically.
The citizen
