Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, September 22, 2021.

Lissu demands DPP drop all cases against CHADEMA members, including Mbowe’s

CHADEMA deputy national chairperson Mr Tundu Lissu on Wednesday demanded that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Mr Sylvester Mwakitalu drop all the “frivolous [criminal] cases” the government has brought against the party’s members, including the one against CHADEMA national chairperson Mr Freeman Mbowe.

Mr Lissu, who was CHADEMA’s presidential candidate in the 2020 General Election, made the call following the government’s decision to withdraw its sedition case against Mr Lissu and three others that was pending at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court with Mr Mwakitalu saying he no longer has an interest in pursuing the case.

The former Singida East MP (CHADEMA) was in 2016 included in a case against two journalists – Simon Mkina and Jabir Yunus – and businessman and Printer Ismail Mehbood following a publication in the weekly Swahili tabloid Mawio of a story titled ‘Machafuko yaja Zanzibar,’ which loosely translates into ‘Chaos imminent in Zanzibar’ in English, and which authorities called “seditious.”

“After five years of purposelessly persecuting me [and] four journalists with baseless sedition charges, Tanzania’s DPP has dropped the case,” Mr Lissu, who served an assassination attempt in September 2017, said reacted to the decision in a Twitter post. “Five more equally frivolous cases [against me] remain [and] hundreds more still face our members, including [Chairperson] Mbowe.”

Mr Mbowe was brought before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court for the first time on July 26, 2021, accused of taking part in conspiracies to blow up fueling stations and other public gatherings as well as funding terrorist acts before his case was transferred to the High Court’s Corruption and Economic Crimes Division.

He was arrested in Mwanza together with eleven other CHADEMA cadres — who have since been released — ahead of a New Constitution conference that BAVICHA had called and which Mr Mbowe was expected to be the guest of honour. Others in the case No. 16/2021 are Halfan Hassan, Adam Kasekwa and Mohamed Lingwenya.

“It’s past time they’re all withdrawn,” demanded Mr Lissu, the recipient of the 2020 Bush-Thatcher Award for Freedom by the German International Democrat Union (IDU), referring to “hundreds” of cases facing the members, supporters and leaders of the main opposition party in Tanzania.

World Bank willing to support Tanzania’s efforts against COVID-19, its president says

During his meeting with President Samia Suluhu Hassan in New York earlier this week, the President of the World Bank Group David Malpass remarked that the international lender is willing to help Tanzania in its efforts against the global pandemic COVID-19 as well as improving business relations between the two, The Citizen newspaper reported on Wednesday.

President Samia is in the United States to attend the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) where she is expected to address other world leaders today, September 23, 2021. The Head of State already has participated in a number of meetings as well as meeting and holding conversations with people with stakes in Tanzania’s developments.

During her meeting with Mr Malpass, the latter pointed out that, through the International Development Association (IDA), the Bretton Wood institution is willing to support Covid-19 vaccine procurement, uptake, and deployment, the paper said.

“Malpass raised the importance of electricity access, affordable housing, and digital infrastructure through regional solutions to improve efficiency and create more competitive markets,” The Citizen quoted the World Bank statement as saying, emphasizing the importance of debt transparency and encouraged careful selection of investment programs and their financing sources.

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