Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on August 18, 2025.
Zanzibar Sets October 29 Election Date, Keeps Disputed Two-Tier Voting System Despite Opposition Outcry
Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced Monday that the general election in the semi-autonomous archipelago will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. It’ll be the seventh election since the reintroduction of the multi-party political system in 1992.
The announcement follows the dissolution of the Zanzibar House of Representatives on August 13, 2025, a step that paved the way for the electoral process to begin per the law. The General Election will involve the election of the President of Zanzibar, Members of the House of Representatives, and councillors.
ZEC also announced that early voting will take place on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, one day before the main election day. This early voting will include election supervisors, assistants, police officers on duty during the election, commission members, commission staff, and voters assigned security and management roles at polling stations.
The decision by the authorities in Zanzibar to retain the early voting system signifies a major setback for the efforts of opposition parties and other democracy stakeholders on the island, who have been vocally advocating for the removal of this system from Zanzibar’s election laws.
Their goal has been to ensure that elections are conducted in an environment of freedom and fairness.
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Tanzanian Court Bans Live Broadcast of Treason Trial Against CHADEMA Leader Tundu Lissu
The Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court issued an order on Monday prohibiting the live broadcast of the ongoing treason case against CHADEMA national chairperson Tundu Lissu, currently in committal proceedings.
Committal proceedings are the legal process where a lower court, in this case, Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court, reviews whether there’s sufficient evidence to transfer a serious criminal case to the High Court for trial.
Monday’s decision comes after the prosecution raised an argument that the live broadcasts must be stopped to comply with a High Court order directing the protection of civilian witnesses in the case, to ensure their safety and that of their property and loved ones.
In its August 4, 2025, ex parte ruling following an application by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), the court ordered that all identifying details of civilian witnesses, including their names, addresses, and locations, must remain confidential throughout legal proceedings.
Prosecutors were directed to carefully review and edit all witness statements, removing any information that could reveal identities before presenting evidence in court.
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Registrar of Political Parties Warns Parties to Adhere to the Law: “The Registrar is Watchful”
Dar es Salaam. The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties has cautioned Tanzanian political parties to strictly follow the law in their activities, warning it will not hesitate to act against any violations.
Speaking during a workshop on the Election Expenses Act held on Monday, August 13, 2025, in Dar es Salaam, Edmund Mugasha, Head of Subsidies at the Registrar’s Office, urged political parties to be vigilant during the nomination process, noting that his office can report violations to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) even before candidates are officially nominated.
“Party leaders, as you continue with your internal processes of nominating candidates, the Registrar is watchful. Anyone who violates provisions under sections 21, 22, and 23 regarding prohibitions can automatically lose eligibility for nomination by the INEC. The Registrar has that legal authority, and the law has clearly set out that procedure,” Mugasha emphasized.
The workshop, organized by the Registrar’s Office at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC), sought to enhance political leaders’ understanding of legal requirements and their responsibilities in ensuring a free and transparent 2025 general election.
On election expenses, Mugasha highlighted that the law grants the Registrar significant powers to enforce compliance. He revealed that election expense declaration forms have already been distributed across the country—covering 272 constituencies and 3,960 wards.
“If you look at sections 36, 50, and 62 of the Election Act, they make it clear that a candidate or INEC can reject anyone if the Registrar confirms they violated election expense laws. This means the Registrar has the mandate to investigate and even raise objections against any candidate who breaches these requirements,” Mugasha elaborated.
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One Year On: CHADEMA Honors Deusdedith Soka Amid Unsolved Disappearance
Several people woke up on Monday with messages remembering Deusdedith Soka, a young activist and politician from the opposition party CHADEMA, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances on August 18, 2024, and remains missing to this day.
Soka, a young man driven by a fierce passion for political and democratic change in the country, was a symbol of political courage for many youth who stood behind him. He often led from the front in movements and campaigns aimed at building a new Tanzania—one that respects human rights and dignity.
At just 29 years old, Soka’s name had already become etched in the minds of many Tanzanians following their country’s political trajectory—particularly in the sphere of democracy and multiparty politics. Many foresaw a promising political journey ahead of him, one that would benefit not only himself as an individual but also his party and the nation at large.
However, this journey was abruptly cut short when the young activist—along with two of his peers, Jacob Mlay and Frank Mbise—vanished without a trace, their whereabouts remaining unknown to this day.
Their disappearance in Dar es Salaam, following a call from the Temeke Police asking Soka to retrieve his motorcade, which had been confiscated, left many unanswered questions that several people continued to ask on Monday.
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Op-Ed: State-Enabled Dispossession Masked as Conservation Emergency: The Hidden War Against the Maasai in Ngorongoro
October 2025 marks the end of Samia Suluhu Hassan’s first constitutional mandate as president. Arguably, one of the most remembered legacies is the way she and her government dealt with the land problem in Ngorongoro and Loliondo—from what was initially seen as a conservation issue to a Maasai issue.
More than all previous presidents, Samia has involved herself deeply in this matter, including issuing direct statements, some of which were openly hostile. President Samia is still eligible for a second and final term in accordance with the Constitution.
With Tundu Lissu, the leader of the largest opposition party CHADEMA, in prison following a sham treason trial, October is nothing but a day to rubber-stamp Samia’s second tenure. For the Maasai, her second tenure is a message of another five years of reign of terror.
This August also marks a year after the historic demonstration by the Maasai in Ngorongoro that almost brought Samia’s government to order, at least for once. I believe both the 2024 demonstration and Samia’s four and a half years deserve a brief reflection.
How it started
On April 6, 2021, President Samia made a public comment about what she described then as “population pressure” in Ngorongoro. Whilst some of us were outraged about it and took the initiative to respond, little did we know that it was the beginning of an era.
Six days after the president’s statement, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) issued a notice directing the demolition of social services, including schools, dispensaries, village offices, police stations, people’s homes, and religious institutions on the pretext that they were constructed without government knowledge and consent.
The government was complaining that the government had constructed social services without the government’s knowledge and consent. Was this not itself outrageous? Although the order was quickly withdrawn after public backlash, the intent was clear—the machinery of displacement had been activated.
For clarity, let it be known that the desire to relocate the Maasai from Ngorongoro for touristic interests is not new. The colonial regime attempted to alienate both Serengeti and Ngorongoro in the 1950s, but the Maasai were able to retain Ngorongoro while losing Serengeti.
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Op-Ed: A Critical Review of Tanzania’s Development Vision 2050
A critical review of Tanzania’s Development Vision (TDV) 2050 points to risks to its success where previous development policies have failed. It is worth noting that Tanzania has consistently missed development targets since independence, despite various policy approaches.
The current vision acknowledges key issues including persistent poverty, the dominance of the informal economy, and the failure to process raw materials like cashews as some of the main bottlenecks for economic transformation in the country.
Vision 2050 sets the ambitious target of turning Tanzania into a trillion-dollar economy from the current baseline of US$86 billion driven primarily by the private sector and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), with the government transitioning to an enabler of business.
The first pillar
The first pillar of the vision targets a strong, inclusive and competitive economy built on macroeconomic stability and predictability, fiscal sustainability, innovative and diversified financing. It identifies as key drivers of this economy an enabling business and investment environment, efficient state-owned enterprises, a vibrant private sector and strategic regional and global opportunities.
It is important to point out that Tanzania is far from being a truly market-driven economy, with a proliferation of state-owned enterprises and regulatory bodies. It is also important to question the effectiveness of Foreign Direct Investment in priority sectors like mining, which has historically led to exclusion of Tanzanians in participating in their own economy, inequality and limited job creation.
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