Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Over 1,000 inmates receive presidential amnesty
President Samia Suluhu on Saturday pardoned 1,631 prisoners from different correctional facilities across the country as part of the 61 union anniversary, according to a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The amnesty followed the 61st anniversary of Tanzania’s independence which was commemorated on December 9, 2022.
In a statement, Home Affairs Minister Hamad Masauni said 101 prisoners were released on Saturday while the other 1,530 will remain in prison serving the remaining part of their sentences.
According to the statement, the presidential pardon will involve prisoners with mental illness and those who are unable to work.
Mr Masauni added that other beneficiaries of the presidential amnesty are prisoners that have been in jail for 15 years, those under detention and prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and have served that sentence for 20 years or more.
“Prisoners covered under the presidential amnesty include those that have served over a quarter of their jail terms and who were jailed before September 10, 2022,” Mr Masauni is quoted as saying in the statement.
Oman impressed with its growing economic ties with Tanzania
Oman’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi said on Sunday that he was “impressed” by the continued growth of economic ties between his country and Tanzania as exemplified by the growth of the volume of trade conducted between the two countries.
According to a report by the Oman New Agency (ONA), al Busaidi made the remarks during the second session of the Omani-Tanzanian Joint Committee, held at Oman’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday and attended by Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax.
At the outset of the meeting, al Busaid said that the Oman-Tanzania partnership scaled new heights after the visit of Tanzanian President Dr Samia Soloho Hassan to Oman recently.
Ties of cooperation in particular gained impetus in the areas of energy, tourism, fisheries and the logistic sector, he added.
Al Busaid told ONA that the second session of the committee was held to follow up on the outcome of the two recent visits made to Oman by President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Dr Hussain Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar.
Al Busaid underscored the significance of following up on the implementation of programmes, memorandums of understanding and agreements that were signed earlier and another set of bilateral agreements to be signed between the two friendly countries in future.
On her turn, Dr Tax said that the meeting of the Omani-Tanzanian Joint Committee was aimed at fostering cooperation between the two friendly countries, which are bound by joint historical relations.
She noted that the sectors of trade and investment witnessed steady growth after the signing of memorandums of understanding with Oman.
Over 300 Tanzanian artisans participate in EAC Trade Fair
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation said Sunday that a total of 300 Tanzanian artisans will take part in the 22nd edition of the East African Community (EAC) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Trade Fair that kicked off in Uganda on December 8, 2022.
The ministry said that the 300 Tanzanian artisans are part of 1,500 artisans attending the trade fair from the EAC’s member states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.
The Tanzanian artisans have joined their colleagues from other EAC countries in showcasing their marine products, agricultural products, tourism products, leather products, and traditional medicines.
The trade fair themed Buy East African to Build East Africa for Resilience and Sustainable Development started on December 8 and ends on December 18 at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, Uganda.
The main objective of the trade fair is to contribute toward the realization of the region’s development goals and aspirations by lending support to this budding sector of the economy.
The first EAC MSMEs Trade Fair was held in Arusha, Tanzania in November 1999 during the historic event of the signing of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC, said the statement.
Sunday’s statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that subsequent to the success of the Arusha exhibition, the EAC heads of state directed that the trade fair be held annually on a rotational basis among the EAC member states to enhance and revamp the socio-economic integration of the people of East Africa.
Tanzania, Kenya security forces rescue over 50 girls from FGM
More than 50 girls from the Kuria community have been rescued from Female Genital Mutilation following a joint security operation by Tanzania and Kenya.
The Kuria community cuts across the border of the two countries and last week security and stakeholders against the vice from the two countries met to streamline joint operations, Kenya’s The Star newspaper reported on Sunday.
The paper quoted Mr Charles Olwamba, an officer with Amref Health Africa, as saying that because of heightened scrutiny, boda boda operators have been hired to do cuts for girls at night from door to door in the community.
“We organised the joint meeting and already through sharing intelligence we have zeroed down on notorious cutters who are stationed in border villages,” Mr Olwamba was quoted as saying.
There are growing worries that the school opening slated for January 24 will see a surge in cases.
“We need to harmonise laws against the vice between the two countries as they are lenient in Tanzania and courts cases should also be fast-tracked,” Olwamba said.
Daudi Ibrahim, the Tarime district police commander, and Andrew Mwiti, the Kuria West sub-county commissioner, said sharing intelligence has seen suspects arrested on time.
Mwiti said on December 8, a raid at Ntunyigi village at the border rescued five girls aged between 12 and 13.
“We held the minors at Kehancha police station as their parents and circumcisers escaped,” the commissioner said.
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