Good morning!The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on August 22, 2024.
Pressure Mounts on Tanzania’s President Over Police’s Alleged Involvement in Forced Disappearance Incidents
Two leading opposition parties in Tanzania came out Thursday to demand President Samia Suluhu Hassan rein in the police in the East African nation, end forced disappearance incidents associated with the law enforcement agency, and deliver free and fair civic and general elections due in November and 2025, respectively.
Police have distanced themselves from the widely reported cases of forced disappearances, and the Head of State has directed authorities to rump up interventions to bring them to an end. But speaking at separate press conferences on Thursday, leaders of CHADEMA and ACT-Wazalendo indicated dissatisfaction with the efforts taken, calling for tougher stances on the issue.
CHADEMA national chairperson Freeman Mbowe claimed at a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Mikocheni in the city that police in Dar es Salaam run a special task force that behaves extrajudicially in its operations, which include kidnapping and torturing suspected government critics and opposition parties’ members and activists. The Chanzo sought comment from the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Jumanne Muliro, about this allegation but received no response.
Mr Mbowe, whose party has lost several of its members in forced disappearance manners, revealed that sources from within the Police Force informed the centre-right party that the task force has its base at the Chang’ombe Police Post in Temeke, where hundreds of suspected government critics are sent to be tortured before they’re killed and dumped at a site that he said would be revealed at another occasion.
“First, [police] would deliver bodies of people they just killed at the city hospitals’ mortuaries,” Mr Mbowe told journalists, referring to the information insiders from within law enforcement authorities fed CHADEMA. “But then they thought the strategy wasn’t so effective and started to just dispose of the bodies at this specific site that we’ll reveal at the opportune time.”
Several families, especially whose members police suspected of belonging to the notorious group of criminal marauders, Panya Road, picked up the bodies of their loved ones at the mortuaries after looking for them for days without any success. On April 6, 2023, The Chanzo documented stories of some of these families that lost their loved ones to what they believe are police extrajudicial measures.
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One person shot dead during protests against child abductions in Lamadi-Simiyu
Meshaki Daudi (20), a resident of Makanisani Sub-village in Lamadi Ward, Busega District, Simiyu Region, was shot dead by police during a protest at the Lamadi police station on August 21, 2024. The protestors were demanding that the government and the police address incidents of child abductions in the area.
Meshaki Daudi, a recent graduate of Loliondo Secondary School in Arusha Region, was awaiting university admission when he met his tragic death. Simiyu Regional Commissioner Kenani Kihongosi confirmed the young man’s death and stated that three other people were injured. He also announced that the government would cover the funeral expenses and the medical costs for the three injured individuals.
“Yesterday, in our region, we faced a challenge. Citizens held a protest after two children went missing. The citizens blocked roads while investigations were still ongoing,” Kihongosi told reporters on August 21, 2024.
“The police were forced to use tear gas to quell the unrest, but it was not enough, and eventually, the police injured four citizens. By 8 PM, we received reports that one citizen had died. We contacted the police, and it was confirmed to be true,” Kihongosi added.
Residents of Lamadi Ward described the incident, stating that the police had been preventing various internal meetings organized by local leaders to discuss the serious issue of child abductions, some of which have ended with the victims being murdered and their body parts harvested.
“We reported the issue to the police, but they remained silent. Later, a secondary school student was found murdered, and the authorities still remained silent. When problems arise, and we demand meetings with the leaders we elected, the police block them, claiming the district authorities have refused until the regional commissioner arrives. So, are we going to keep dying until the regional commissioner comes here?” lamented Lwangija Nanai, the chairman of Lamadi area traders, when speaking to reporters.
Speaking to journalists after the protests, Busega District Commissioner Faiza Salim stated that the police are holding 108 people in connection with the protests, which began early Wednesday morning and disrupted various community activities for over five hours.
Reports of people going missing continue to surface in the country, with security forces being accused of either inadequate response or direct involvement in these incidents. In response to the rising incidents the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance has commenced to investigate the reported disappearances.
Speaking to the press in Dodoma on August 22, 2024, the Commission’s Chairman, Judge Mwaimu, said the investigation aims to identify the causes and perpetrators of these incidents to provide appropriate recommendations to the relevant authorities.
Human Rights Defenders urge President Samia to visit Ngorongoro to hear residents’ concerns
A coalition of 44 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Human Rights Defenders in Tanzania has issued a joint statement on the state of human rights in the Ngorongoro division of the Arusha Region, calling on the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, to visit the area and listen to the residents who have been engaged in peaceful protests.
Speaking on behalf of the organizations and human rights defenders, National Coordinator of the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC), Lawyer Onesmo Olengurumwa, emphasized the importance of President Samia visiting Ngorongoro to witness the situation firsthand and understand the challenges facing the residents.
“We advise Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, to visit Ngorongoro division to listen to the citizens and understand their challenges in detail. Even in the ongoing peaceful protests in Ngorongoro, the residents’ plea has been for the President to come to Ngorongoro to hear their concerns and address their issues,” said Lawyer Olengurumwa while presenting the statement on August 22, 2024, in Dar es Salaam.
Among other grievances, the residents, who began protesting on August 18, 2024, include denial of basic services, discrimination by authorities, and government plans to evict them from their ancestral land which commenced with the delisting of all wards and villages in the area.
“We urge the government to provide social services in Ngorongoro division—all social services—to prevent major humanitarian disasters that are expected to occur in the area. We implore the government to listen to the needs of Ngorongoro residents while continuing with their plans to reduce the population in the area, but without infringing on the rights of those citizens,” Olengurumwa clarified.
The organizations also addressed the issue of the dissolution of several villages in the area, calling on the relevant ministry to immediately revoke that order. On June 26, 2024, the Minister of Local Government, Hon. Mohamed Omary Mchengerwa, signed the Amendment Order of the Administrative Boundaries in Local Government Authorities (District Authorities) of 2024, which was announced in Government Notice No. 673 of August 2, 2024. This notice dissolved 11 wards, 25 villages, and 96 sub-villages with a population of over 110,000 people, according to the 2022 population and housing census.
In addition to demanding the reversal of the village dissolution order, the organizations called on the National Electoral Commission to restore the division to the list of voting centers to ensure that residents are not deprived of their right to participate in elections.
“We urge the Minister of Local Government to revoke and cancel Government Notice No. 673 of 2024, as it violates the constitution, laws, and international and regional treaties that Tanzania has signed and ratified.”
“We call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to go to Ngorongoro division to register people and update the permanent voter register for the 2024 and 2025 elections,” said Olengurumwa on behalf of the organizations.
Victim testifies on day four of Yombo girl gang rape case
The case involving four suspects accused of rape and sodomy against a girl from Yombo, Dar es Salaam, resumed on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at the Dodoma Resident Magistrate’s Court, where the victim began giving her testimony.
According to the defense lawyer, speaking to journalists after the adjournment of case number 23476/2024 before Dodoma Resident Magistrate Zabibu Mpangule, the proceedings are progressing smoothly for both sides.
“The proceedings are going well, and today we heard testimony from witness XY, who is the one subjected to the abuse in this case and has finished giving her testimony,” said Defense Lawyer Ngamando.
XY is considered a key witness in the case, which involves four young men led by MT 140105 Clinton Damas, popularly known as “Nyundo.” The other defendants in the case are Amini Lema, also known as “Kindamba,” Nickson Jackson, also known as “Machuche,” and prison officer C.1693 Playgod Mushi, all charged with the rape and sodomy of the girl from Yombo, who has been identified as XY for her privacy.The case is set to continue on Friday, with other witnesses expected to testify.
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