An Islamic cleric supposedly sought for questioning over the acid attack on two British teenagers in Zanzibar has surrendered to Tanzanian police after being injured in a shoot-out.

It had been widely alleged in British newspapers that Sheikh Issa Ponda was linked to the horrific attack on Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup (who are now being treated in a London hospital for their injuries).

The women, aged 18, were working as volunteers at a Zanzibar nursery school when two men on a moped threw acid over them, causing injuries to their faces, hands necks and legs.

Soon after, several papers reported that Ponda was wanted by police for inspiring the attack. He was certainly wanted, but was it really for that crime?

According to a blogpost by the former Tanzanian-based Ben Taylor, UK media not letting the facts get in the way of a story, British papers may have been guilty of conflating two unrelated stories.

He points to coverage by several outlets, such as the Daily Mail (here), Daily Telegraph (here), Daily Mirror (here), The Sun (here), Sky News (here) and Channel 4 (here). The Mail and Mirror have since changed their stories to remove the acid links, as Taylor has noted in an updated posting.

In differing ways, often citing each other as sources, the original reports stated that Ponda was wanted for the acid attack. Taylor, however, was unconvinced.

He agrees that the radical Muslim cleric is a controversial figure and has had a troubled relationship with the authorities. "There are plenty of reasons why the police may have tried to arrest him," writes Taylor.

One example, published by Tanzania's Daily News, shows that the country's director of public prosecutions had called for Ponda's arrest for disobeying a court order banning him from activities likely to cause a breach of the peace.

Taylor contends that the papers don't have a credible source for their claims that Ponda is wanted for the acid attack, adding:

"If I am right, this is pretty disgraceful on the part of the UK press. First, it misleads the families of these two girls by suggesting that progress is being made in tracking down their attackers. Second, and more worryingly, it risks inflaming religious tensions in Tanzania further, on the flimsiest of evidence."

I cannot be certain either way, of course. But Taylor's inside knowledge of Tanzanian affairs does suggest the papers and broadcasters may need to look again at the story.

Sources: mtega.com/Tanzania Daily News