The Vice Chairperson of CHADEMA, John Heche, has called for Judge Hamidu Mwanga, who is presiding over a civil suit brought to court by three CHADEMA members from Zanzibar, to withdraw from the case, citing a lack of confidence in the judge’s impartiality.
On June 10, 2025, the High Court, under Judge Hamidu Mwanga, suspended all activities of Tanzania’s main opposition party, CHADEMA, and barred it from using its assets and properties. The suspension followed complaints from Zanzibar-based CHADEMA members.
The order was issued following an application by three petitioners: Said Issa Mohamed, who served as CHADEMA’s Vice Chairperson from 2010 until January 2025 when the new leadership was elected; Ahmed Rashid, a member of CHADEMA’s Board of Trustees; and Maulidah Anna Komu, a former Acting Chairperson of the CHADEMA Board of Trustees.
In a press release, John Heche argued that the case is part of an effort to undermine the party’s “no reforms, no election” stance.
“This case arose after the new leadership, elected on January 21, assumed office. Tanzanians will remember that we have only been in office for a few months. By March, the chairman had already been arrested, less than two months into his term,” Heche said.
He added, “We have never reviewed or changed the allocation or redistribution of resources. The subvention going to Zanzibar remains the same.”
Heche, who had planned a press conference in the morning but was stopped by the police citing a court order, called for Judge Hamidu Mwanga to withdraw from the case due to concerns about his impartiality.
“After our lawyer, Mr. Jebra Kambole, withdrew from the case for valid reasons, he requested the court to adjourn and allow the party an opportunity to find another lawyer. The judge, however, stated that Jebra is not a representative of the party and therefore could not speak on its behalf,” Heche explained.
“As a result, the judge decided the case would proceed one-sidedly and issued a ruling that has caused harm and goes against the principles of justice,” he added.
In its ruling, the court had stated that Kambole’s withdrawal lacked a plausible explanation and appeared to be an attempt to delay the proceedings.
Heche expressed deep concern over how the case was handled, noting that their legal team observed significant similarities between two injunction orders issued by Judge Mwanga and the reliefs sought in the main case. This overlap, according to Heche, raises serious legal and ethical questions, suggesting that the judge may have reached a conclusion on the substantive matter before it was formally heard.
“On behalf of CHADEMA, I say we have no confidence in Judge Mwanga because we do not believe that denying the party’s Board of Trustees and Secretary General the right to be heard was a mere human error. We believe he acted knowingly to achieve his objective,” Heche said.
Heche also questioned Judge Mwanga’s background as a former official of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC).
“CHADEMA has always been critical of both the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and ZEC regarding their operations and structure. When a case involving CHADEMA is assigned to a judge with a background from an institution we have consistently criticized, we do not feel we are being treated fairly. In truth, we have not been treated fairly. We see this as a conflict of interest. For these reasons, we request that Judge Mwanga recuse himself from hearing our case,” Heche explained.
The party also committed to seeking a legal review of Judge Mwanga’s judgment.
