Dar es Salaam. Lawyers representing former Minister of Investment Geoffrey Mwambe have filed a petition at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court, seeking the court’s intervention over what they describe as Mwambe’s unlawful detention.

The petition is scheduled for hearing on Monday, December 15, 2025, before Resident Magistrate Gwantwa Mwankunga. It remains unclear what charges, if any, Mwambe is facing. However, a message circulating earlier on social media, before the lawyers released official information, suggested that his arrest may be linked to political tensions and internal factions within the ruling party.

Speaking to The Chanzo today, Advocate Hekima Mwasipu stated that he was able to speak with Mwambe while he was being held at the Kigamboni Police Station. However, Mwasipu noted that they currently do not know Mwambe’s whereabouts, as the police have not disclosed the station to which he was transferred. The Laywer and Mwambe family have reported to search him in various police station.

The respondents listed in the petition include the Inspector General of Police, the Dar es Salaam Zonal Crime Officer, and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mwambe previously served as a Senior Economist at the Bank of Tanzania before becoming the Director of Trade and Investment at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. He later joined politics after being appointed District Commissioner of Manyoni in 2016. In 2017, he was appointed as the Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC).

He went on to serve as Minister of Industry and Trade in 2021, and later as the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Investment. His ministerial role ended in January 2022, when he was dropped by President Samia during a reshuffle.

Mwambe is also a former Member of Parliament for Masasi Urban. He was among the 40 MPs axed by the CCM Central Committee ahead of the party’s primaries by the end of July 2025.