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The police chief in Tanzania's capital Dodoma has been sacked following controversial comments linking an alleged gang rape victim to sex work.
Earlier this month, a video went viral in the East African country showing a young woman being assaulted by five men, sparking public outcry.
On Sunday, the police chief in the capital, Dodoma, was quoted as saying: Tanzanian newspaper The report also stated that “the woman in question appears to be a sex worker.”
After a backlash and accusations that the comment trivialised the woman's plight, Tanzania's national police force apologised and said its commander had been transferred.
“The police force wishes to apologise to all those affected and offended by the statement circulating in the media while it is being monitored for accuracy,” national police spokesman David Misimi said on Monday.
Mr Msimi added that Dodoma district commander Theobista Malia had told the local newspaper Mwananchi that even if the woman was a sex worker, “she does not deserve to be treated this way”.
These words did not appear in the Mwananshi report, and the BBC has contacted the newspaper for comment.
Responding to Mwananchi's report, lawyer Peter Madleka said on social media platform X that Ms Malia's comments were “evidence of police brutality towards women's rights”.
Prominent lawyer and activist Fatima Karume also expressed her outrage over X, writing: “Those who sell themselves cannot be raped in this country?”
In the video, which shows a woman being raped, the suspects reportedly interrogated her and forced her to apologize to someone referred to as “Afandi.”
In Tanzania, the term “afandi” is often used to refer to a soldier or police officer, so many activists and social media users have expressed outrage at the possibility of a sexual assault on the orders of a member of the security forces.
“The investigation revealed that the youths were not acting on orders from any officers, but were simply under the influence of alcohol and drugs,” Malia told the Mwananshi newspaper.
“But it seems that the woman in question was a sex worker,” she added.
Following the backlash over Ms Malia's comments, Tanzania's national police said she had been transferred to police headquarters, although it was not clear whether this was temporary or permanent.
The gang rape suspects are due to appear in court later on Monday.
It is not yet clear when the video was filmed, but reports indicate that the victim was a resident of Yumbo Dovia, a suburb of the country's largest city, Dar es Salaam.
More BBC stories from Tanzania:
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