Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
Stakeholders gather in Dar to reflect on state of democracy ahead of civic, general elections
Key stakeholders in Tanzania’s multiparty democracy gather here for a two-day national stakeholders’ conference to reflect on the state of democracy in the country as it heads to the civic and general elections in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Happening under the auspices of the Tanzania Centre of Democracy (TCD), a non-profit political parties’ membership organisation working to enhance multiparty democracy in the country, the two-day conference brought together representatives from political parties, the government, CSOs, and development partners.
The conference, happening on August 22 and August 23, 2023, follows that on justice, peace and reconciliation, which TCD, formed by parties with representation in the parliament, organised between March 30 and March 31, 2022, in the capital Dodoma.
Full story here.
Indonesia’s President tours Tanzania months after East African nation opens embassy in Jakarta
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo winded his two-day state visit to Tanzania Tuesday as part of his long African tour, which would see him visiting neighbouring Kenya, South Africa, and Mozambique.
Regarded as Indonesia’s first president not to have emerged from the country’s political or military elite, Widodo, popularly referred to by his supporters as Jokowi, touched down at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport on Monday, received by Foreign Affairs Minister Stergomena Tax.
While in Tanzania, Widodo met face-to-face with his host President Samia Suluhu Hassan, and they agreed to strengthen the economic and social ties between the two countries. The two Heads of State signed seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to realise that goal.
Full story here.
India convicts Tanzanian national over possession of 4.6 kg of heroin
An Indian court found a 34-year-old Tanzanian national guilty under the country’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for possession of about 4.6 kg of heroin on his arrival at the Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, on July 12, 2021.
India’s The Hindu newspaper reported Tuesday that Ashraf Mtoro Saphy was found guilty under Section 21 (c) and Section 23 of the NDPS Act. The sentencing hearing will be held on August 23. Authorities found the narcotic drug in a trolley bag concealed inside a special cavity.
He was arrested on July 12 and remanded in judicial custody in Viyyur jail. The investigation revealed that he had travelled to India using fake documents.
Saphy is said to have started his journey from Zanzibar and was holding an e-medical attendant visa. He arrived at Nedumbassery via Dubai by Emirates Airlines.
Those in the drug network reportedly directed him to stay in a hotel in Kochi and take the train route to New Delhi, where he was supposed to hand over the consignment.
A suspected New Delhi-based racket was behind the operation. The drugs were handed over to him by an unidentified passenger in Tanzania.
High Court stopped Government Notice that formed Pololeti game-controlled area in Loliondo
The High Court in Arusha has stopped the implementation of Government Notice 604/2022 which formed a new game-controlled area in Loliondo, Pololeti Game Controlled Area.
Pololeti Game Controlled area was announced by the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism through notice no 421 of June 17, 2022, and it sits in the contested area of 1500 square Kilometers in Loliondo.
Before the notice, the area was legally village land, but for more than 26 years Loliondo has been a contested area, with a specific struggle around the new game-controlled area which residents consider crucial for grazing during drought season.
The government said that the move to preserve the area and not allow human activity is for conservation purposes since the area is an important source of water for the whole Ngorongoro ecosystem. But residents considered the move is mainly for the benefit of game hunters who are now using the area exclusively.
The Judicial review application for the GN Notice 604/2022 was brought forward by eight residents of Loliondo and filed with the assistance of Advocate Dennis Moses, Jebra Kambole, and Jeremia Mtobesya. With the court’s decision to stop the implementation of the notice, legally, Loliondo residents can now proceeds to use the area as if the notice wasn’t there, as other process of the case continue.
The applicants are now proceeding with filing a substantive application of the case.
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