Mbeya Urban MP Joseph Mbilinyi (Sugu) wins child custody battle against former partner

Mbeya Urban MP Joseph Mbilinyi with his daughter Sasha

A court in Dar es Salaam yesterday granted custody of a two-year-old child to Mbeya Urban MP Joseph Mbilinyi, alias Sugu, after a one year battle with his former partner.

But the mother of the child, Ms Faiza Abdallah Ally, immediately vowed on her Instagram page to appeal against the decision.

“I would rather die than let Sasha be taken away to a step mother while I’m still alive. She is my everything…it’s so painful to be dragged to court and robbed of my child without any justifiable reason,” she wrote.

The firebrand MP, who first made his name as a hip hop artist, last week petitioned the Manzese Primary Court to grant him custody of Sasha, arguing that her mother’s “immoral” behaviour would spoil the child.

Their row over the child’s upkeep had dragged on for over a year before the MP took the matter to court.

Yesterday, Magistrate Patrick Vaginga sided with the outspoken opposition MP that Ms Ally was unable to guarantee the child a decent upbringing and other necessities.

The magistrate based his decision on Section 37 of the Law of the Child Act, 2009 which allows a parent, guardian or a relative who is caring for a child to apply for custody.

Under the law, a court may grant custody to an applicant if is satisfied that the decision is for the best interest of the child.

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Mr Mbilinyi’s Lawyer, Mr John Mallya, said his client resorted to legal redress after all efforts to secure custody of the child amicably proved futile.

Mr Mbilinyi accused Ms Ally of failing to give their child proper upbringing, appearing with her in public half-naked and posting indecent photos on the Internet. The MP said the trend would have a devastating impact on the child’s growth.

When the case was called last Friday, Mr Mbilinyi claimed Ms Ally was not earning enough to properly care for the child. She has been frequently travelling out of Dar es Salaam, the MP claimed, saying the tendency had for a long time denied the child good parental care.

Ms Ally has denied the accusations and told the court she did not believe the issues raised by the MP would affect the upbringing of their child. The Citizen could not reach here yesterday but she commented on her Instagram page:

“I still can’t figure out how Sugu won this case. I cannot see how pictorial evidence alone was sufficient to deny me custody of my own child.”    


This post originally appeared on - Mwananchi