Good morning!The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Another cabinet reshuffle saw January Makamba and Nape Nnauye removed from the cabinet
President Samia has announced another cabinet reshuffle, which saw the Minister of Foreign Affairs, January Makamba, and ICT Minister, Nape Nnauye, removed from the cabinet. This is one of the several cabinet reshuffles which has happened over three years.
Jerry William Silaa has been transferred from the Ministry of Land to the ICT Ministry. Deogratius John Ndejembi is appointed as the Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Youth, Employment & Persons with Disabilities).
Ridhiwani Kikwete is appointed as the Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Youth, Employment & Persons with Disabilities), moving from his former position as the Deputy Minister of the President’s Office for Public Service Management and Good Governance.
Ambassador Mahmoud Thabit Kombo is appointed as a new member of parliament and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Cosato David Chumi is appointed as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Deus Clement Sangu is appointed as the Deputy Minister in the President’s Office for Public Service Management and Good Governance. Dennis Lazaro Londo is also appointed as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Prisoners and detainees to vote in the upcoming election
The government has prepared 140 voting stations across the country, including mainland Tanzania and the islands, to enable eligible prisoners to vote in the 2025 presidential, parliamentary, and council elections. This will be the first time in Tanzania’s history.
Speaking at the launch of the permanent voter registration exercise on July 21, 2024, in Kigoma region, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa called on the Prison Service to establish enabling infrastructure to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (NEC) to effectively register prisoners serving sentences of less than six months and detainees.
“This opportunity, enabled by the law passed by the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania, allows prisons to vote for their chosen leaders. This is the first time in our country’s history that prisoners and detainees are given the chance to vote while in prison.”
It is noteworthy that after the NEC announced the registration of prisoners serving sentences of less than six months in the permanent voter register, various stakeholders called for amendments to the law to allow all prisoners to vote. They argued that being a prisoner does not remove the right to vote since they are still governed by elected leaders.
Moreover, Majaliwa urged all election stakeholders, including the police force and the immigration department, to visit voter registration centres to identify those who do not meet the criteria to vote, especially non-citizens of Tanzania.
According to the 2022 Population and Housing Census, a total of 5,586,433 new voters will be registered in the Permanent Voter Register. These are individuals who have turned 18 since the last general election in 2020 and those who will turn 18 by the 2025 general election date. Additionally, it is estimated that 4,369,531 voters will update their information.
“This is not a small number for the voter register update exercise. Therefore, I urge every registered voter needing to update their information not to hesitate to visit the registration centers. The NEC has planned to ensure all citizens are reached, even in the remotest areas.”
“I urge every registered voter needing to update their information, whether to correct details or to transfer from one voting area to another, to visit the registration centers as the NEC is prepared to ensure all citizens are reached,” said Majaliwa.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs resigns, cites personal reasons
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Mbarouk Nassor Mbarouk, has submitted his resignation letter, citing personal challenges.
In a statement released by the parliament on Sunday, July 21, 2024, it was disclosed that the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation wrote a letter explaining his decision to the Speaker of the Tanzanian Parliament, Dr. Tulia Ackson.
“I am compelled to resign to have the opportunity to address these challenges,” part of the Parliament’s statement quoted Ambassador Mbarouk’s letter.
Ambassador Mbarouk was appointed in April 2021 as an MP of the United Republic of Tanzania. Concurrently, on the same day, President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed him as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation.
While serving as Deputy Minister and appointed MP, the Central Committee of the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in 2022 appointed him as Secretary of the CCM’s National Executive Committee for Politics and International Relations. Rabia Abdallah Hamid later took over this position in October 2023, while Ambassador Mbarouk continued to serve as MP and Deputy Minister.
Before his political roles, from 2013 to 2019, Ambassador Mbarouk served in diplomatic positions, being an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Ambassador Mbarouk is not the first MP to resign from the position. Former CCM special seats MP, Bahati Ndingo, resigned in August 2023 to contest for constituency seat.
Shortly afterward, Bahati ran for the parliamentary seat of Mbarali in the Mbeya region, where she won and currently serves. Other notable resignations include Sheha Faki, Katani Katani, and even Lazaro Nyalandu, who resigned from his CCM parliamentary seat in October 2017 and later joined Chadema.
Commission for Human Rights reveals some police stations in Tanzania are used as torture chambers for suspects
The Tanzanian constitutional body for protecting human rights, the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG), has reported that some police stations in Tanzania are being used specifically to torture suspects during interrogations before transferring them to other police stations.
This was revealed, on July 19, 2024, in their performance report. From July 1, 2023, to May 30, 2024, the Commission handled 1,020 complaints and completed investigations into 230 complaints.
One of the complaints highlighted by the Commission involved an incident reported by The Chanzo on December 20, 2023. The incident involved a resident of Makole ward in Dodoma, Kalamba Ramadhani Mnenge, 38, and the police at the central Dodoma station.
In this incident, Kalamba described to The Chanzo how the police stripped him naked and beat him unconscious, alleging he had stolen from his neighbor.
“They took me to a house and stripped me naked,” Mnenge narrated. “They handcuffed my legs and arms again and left me hanging through a piece of iron bar. One of the officers was drinking water while occasionally pouring it on my naked buttocks.”
“They beat me heavily on different parts of my body,” Mnenge continued to narrate in a voice filled with bitterness. “They hit me on the chest, stomach and on my penis. They all hurt badly as we currently speak. They beat me until I became unconscious, and blood was dripping out of my nose, and then they took me outside to get some fresh air.”
The Commission’s investigation confirmed that legal procedures were not followed during Kalamba’s arrest and detention, including denying him bail and subjecting him to cruel treatment through beatings and torture.
“Additionally, CHRAGG found that some police stations are specifically used to torture suspects during interrogations before transferring them to other police stations,” the Commission’s report reveals.
The Commission also detailed another incident in Mbarali district, Mbeya, where a businessman was subjected to cruel treatment by the police. He was held without bail for over twenty days, enduring torture that resulted in various injuries, including a severe wound on his foot.
The report further explains that, despite these hardships, he was denied timely medical treatment.
Article 13(6)(e) of the Tanzanian Constitution prohibits torture, stating, “no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.”
This is it for today, and we hope you enjoyed our briefing. Please consider subscribing to our newsletter (see left), following us on X (Twitter) (here), or joining us on Telegram (here). And if you have any questions or comments, please drop a word to our editors at editor@thechanzo.com
