Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on November 20, 2025
The Full Text of President Samia’s Address at the Launch of the Commission of Inquiry
On November 20, 2025, President Samia Suluhu Hassan officially launched the Commission of Inquiry she had formed to investigate the events of October 29, 2025, including youth-led protests and security forces’ crackdown, that left hundreds dead.
The following is the speech President Samia made during the launching ceremony, which took place at Chamwino’s State House, in the capital Dodoma:
The formation of this commission is in line with our law, the Commissions of Inquiry Act of 2023, Chapter 32, which gives me the authority to form various commissions to conduct investigations on various matters within our country.
Now, regarding this event that occurred, I thought that before we are presented with external commissions, we should have our own domestic commission, let it do the work, and when the external ones arrive, they will come to speak with their counterpart commission that had already commenced the work.
In short, what happened was unexpected to occur within our country because of our history of safety and political stability within the nation. Even if there were periods when we did not have political safety [as a country], the [situation] never reached this extent.
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EU Parliament Committees Object to €156 Million Funding for Tanzania Amid ‘Democratic Backsliding’
Committees within the European Parliament have formally objected to a plan by the European Commission to allocate €156 million (Sh438.7 billion) in development funds to Tanzania in 2026.
The move, driven by concerns over alleged “democratic backsliding” and violent unrest following the country’s recent general election, sends a clear warning signal to the East African nation about the international community’s perspective on its governance.
The objection was raised on Thursday by a joint vote in the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the European Parliament Committee on Development (DEVE).
The committees overwhelmingly adopted the objection to the European Commission’s implementing act under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe) Regulation, with a vote of 53 in favour, two against, and one abstention.
“This is a clear political signal that the EU cannot proceed on the basis of documents that ignore repression, fraudulent elections and the government’s authoritarian rule,” stated David McAllister, chair of the AFET committee, following the vote.
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Tanzania, Zambia and China Launch TAZARA Railway Rehabilitation
The Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Emmanuel John Nchimbi, joined Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and China’s Premier Li Qiang on Thursday to lay the foundation stone for the rehabilitation of the historic TAZARA Railway in Zambia.
Dr. Nchimbi, who represented President Samia Suluhu Hassan, said the project will significantly strengthen the Southern Corridor and stimulate trade across Tanzania, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and the African continent at large.
He noted that if the founding leaders of Tanzania, Zambia and China could build the “Uhuru Railway” in the 1970s, then today, given modern capabilities and resources, the three nations are well positioned to rehabilitate TAZARA and transform it into a 21st-century model of trilateral cooperation.
“This revitalization comes at a time when China is emerging as a major driver of global economic growth under its 15th Five-Year Development Plan. This positions China as a critical development partner,” Dr. Nchimbi said. “Today we have a new opportunity to link the Belt and Road Initiative with the SADC corridor, especially through the Benguela coastal route and Lobito on the Atlantic to Dar es Salaam.”
The 1,860-kilometer TAZARA Railway, 975 km in Tanzania and 885 km in Zambia, connects the Port of Dar es Salaam to New Kapiri-Mposhi using the Cape Gauge system (1,067 mm). Built with Chinese assistance in the 1970s, the line has faced operational challenges for decades.
Earlier this year, TAZARA CEO Bruno Ching’andu announced that China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) would invest $1.4 billion in rehabilitating the line. Under the 30-year concession, the first three years will focus on repairs, followed by 27 years of full commercial operation.
The investment includes extensive upgrades to the rail track, station facilities, communications systems, and the acquisition of new locomotives and passenger and freight wagons. Upon completion, freight capacity is expected to rise to 2.4 million tonnes annually, up from the current 100,000 tonnes.
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Polepole Lawyers File ‘Extreme Urgency’ Appeal After Habeas Corpus Ruling
The disappearance of former Tanzanian ambassador and outspoken government critic Humphrey Polepole has escalated to the nation’s highest judicial level after his legal team, led by Peter Kibatala, filed a Criminal Appeal in the Court of Appeal of Tanzania on November 17, 2025.
This action is a direct and urgent response to the High Court’s ruling on October 24, 2025, in which Justice S.M. Maghimbi dismissed Polepole’s application for a writ of Habeas Corpus, the judicial remedy sought to determine the legality of his detention.
In a Certificate of Most Extreme Urgency filed with the Court of Appeal, Mr Kibatala underscored the critical nature of the situation, stating that the appeal “involves the whereabouts of the Appellant, who was abducted since October 16, 2025, and has not been seen or heard from to date. The Appellant’s life may depend on the urgent determination of this Appeal.”
The appeal challenges the High Court’s decision on eight principal grounds, with the central argument being that the original court failed to properly assess circumstantial evidence and, in effect, set an evidential bar that was impossible to meet in an abduction case.
Specifically, the Memorandum of Appeal contends that the High Court erred by “raising the evidential bar to that of beyond a reasonable doubt,” a standard typically reserved for criminal conviction, rather than accepting proof on a “more likely than not/Preponderance of Probability” standard, which is appropriate for determining unlawful detention.
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PPRA, VETA Partner to Lift Special Groups Into Government Procurement Opportunities
The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at identifying, training, and registering special groups so they can benefit from Government tenders reserved for them.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Dodoma, PPRA Director General Denis Simba said that, to date, only about 1,000 groups have registered on the National e-Procurement System (NeST) — a number he described as still very low compared to the potential.
“Our law requires that a group be made up of between five and 20 people,” Simba explained. “A few months back, last year, I remember we had only 185 groups, even after conducting a nationwide campaign. But after stepping up our efforts, today we have seen an increase of about 700 to 800 percent.”
He added that these registered groups have already been able to apply for tenders, with contracts worth approximately TSh 30 billion awarded so far.
“You can see there is still a big gap,” Simba said. “If we all implement this properly, we can reach TSh 5 trillion. We need to increase the pace at which we reach citizens.”
Under Tanzanian law, public institutions are required to allocate 30 percent of their procurement budgets to purchase goods and services from companies owned by special groups, such as youth, women, elders and people with disabilities.
Simba stressed that this requirement is not merely a political statement but a legal obligation that must be implemented.
“We expect that through the implementation of the memorandum of understanding we signed today, the nation will benefit by having a larger number of citizens with higher incomes,” he said. “We believe that, by working together with PPRA and VETA, we can quickly mobilise and attract these groups into the system.”
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