Good morning!The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on August 14, 2024.
Fourth cabinet reshuffle in 2024: Former ministers return, others dropped, Hamza Johari named new Attorney General of Tanzania
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has announced her fourth cabinet reshuffle this year, marking the fourteenth such change since March 2021. The latest reshuffle sees the return of former ministers Palamagamba Kabudi and William Lukuvi to the cabinet, while two other ministers, Angela Kairuki and Ummy Mwalimu, have been removed.
Kabudi and Lukuvi were initially dropped from the cabinet on January 8, 2022, when President Samia cited concerns that some ministers were overly focused on the 2025 election.
Kabudi, who has now been reappointed as the Minister of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, joins a completely revamped leadership team at the ministry. This includes Deputy Minister Jumanne Sagini, who was reassigned to the ministry in March 2024, and Permanent Secretary Eliakim Maswi, who was appointed on July 21, 2024. Additionally, Dr. Franklin Jasson Rwezimula was appointed Deputy Permanent Secretary on August 14, 2024.
One of the major challenges facing Kabudi’s ministry is the handling of recent international arbitration cases that have cost the country millions of dollars. The most recent case resulted in Tanzania paying USD 90 million to the Australian-based company Indiana Resources Limited.
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CHADEMA to take police to court after accusing it of torturing leaders, members: ‘They behaved like thugs’
CHADEMA national chairperson Freeman Mbowe said Wednesday that the main opposition party in Tanzania will sue the police’s chief in charge of operations and training, Awadh Haji, and deputy party registrar Sisty Nyahoza for civil damages over their role in the torture and abuse against party leaders and members.
Mr Mbowe told a press conference at the party’s headquarters in the city that the team of party lawyers led by CHADEMA deputy national chairperson (Tanzania Mainland), Tundu Lissu, are preparing lawsuits against the two individuals, as awe-striking reports of police brutality against harmless party cadres and officials hit the airwaves.
Mbowe’s announcement comes a day after police released 520 CHADEMA members and officials they arrested in various parts of the country since Sunday to prevent a planned International Youth Day commemoration organised by the party’s youth wing BAVICHA. Police reportedly tortured many of the cadres in what Mr Mbowe described as an “unprecedented oppression.”
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Proposal that people offering sexual corruption should also face criminal charges spark outrage in Tanzania: ‘It Ignores the aspect of power and authority’
Some renowned Tanzania women’s rights activists have appealed to the government to drop its proposal that both the perpetrator and the victim of sextortion should face sexual corruption charges, noting that the proposition fails to consider the issue of power that is central to the crime.
The controversial motion is contained in the proposed amendments to the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Act that the Parliamentary Committee on Constitution and Legal Affairs has asked stakeholders to share their views on, among other seven pieces of legislation that the upcoming parliamentary sessions will debate.
The proposed amendments seek to add a sub-section ‘b’ to section 25 of the PCCB Act concerning sexual and any other favours to prescribe a liability of a person who offers sexual favour or any other favours to a person in a position of power. The current act concerns only the person who demands sexual favours or any other favours.
The proposed sub-section reads: “[A person who] promises, gives, or offers sexual favour or any other favour to a person who is in a position of power or authority, to influence him to exercise his authority in his favour in giving employment, promotion, a right, privilege or any preferential treatment commits an offence and on conviction shall be liable to a fine of not less than two million shillings but not exceeding ten million shillings or to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years but not exceeding ten years or to both.”
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Cuba and Tanzania to Collaborate in Various Sectors
The Tanzanian government has announced its commitment to continue collaborating with Cuba in several sectors, including Education, Health, Agriculture, Tourism, and Technology, to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
This statement was made by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa following his meeting with Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa, which took place on August 13, 2024, at Revolutionary Square, Havana, Cuba. Majaliwa highlighted that Cuban specialist doctors have frequently been invited to Tanzania to work with their Tanzanian counterparts in providing specialized medical services at various hospitals, including Muhimbili, Mloganzila, Bugando, KCMC, and Dodoma.
“We have had a very good collaboration with Cuban doctors, who have demonstrated patriotism and diligence in their work here in the country. I assure the Vice President that we will continue to cherish this fraternal cooperation,” said Majaliwa.
The discussions also addressed the importance of promoting the Swahili language in Cuba and other parts of South America. Majaliwa, who is in Cuba for a two-day special visit aimed at strengthening diplomatic relations, mentioned that the Tanzanian Embassy in Cuba, led by Ambassador Humphrey Polepole, has been tasked with ensuring that Swahili is widely taught and spoken in the country.
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