Dar es Salaam – Lawyers for Clemence Kenan Mwandambo, a nursery school teacher and prominent TikToker, filed a habeas corpus application at the High Court in Mbeya on January 9, 2026, arguing his continued detention is illegal and a violation of his constitutional rights.
The application, which names the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions among the respondents, demands that the police produce Mr Mwandambo in court and justify his detention.
According to the court documents, Mr Mwandambo was arrested on December 29, 2025, after reporting to the Mbeya Central Police Station as part of his bail conditions from a previous arrest in November.
He has been held at the same station since, and his lawyers state that they and his family have been denied access to him. The application was filed with a certificate of urgency, calling the situation a violation of the rule of law.
Mr Mwandambo’s detention comes amidst a wider crackdown on government critics following a contested general election on October 29, 2025. The period has been marked by what human rights groups have called a climate of fear, with numerous arrests and enforced disappearances reported across the country.
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Mr Mwandambo, known for his social commentary under the catchphrase “Nachoka mimi mzee wenu Mwandambo,” is one of several online personalities who have been detained in recent weeks.
The legal challenge filed by Mr Mwandambo’s lawyers centres on a fundamental legal principle known as habeas corpus, a Latin term meaning “you shall have the body.”
It is a legal action through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, typically a prison official or police officer, to bring the prisoner to court to determine if the detention is lawful.
In Tanzania, the law is clear on the time limit for detaining a suspect. The Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act state that a person arrested must be brought before a court of law within 24 hours. Tanzanian courts have consistently upheld this principle, ruling that any detention beyond this period without judicial approval is illegal.
In numerous past cases, judges have ordered the immediate release of individuals held for longer than the statutory limit, emphasising that investigative convenience is not a valid reason for unlawfully extending detention. The courts have affirmed that the right to personal liberty is a cornerstone of the country’s justice system and cannot be arbitrarily curtailed.
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The arrest of Mr Mwandambo is not an isolated incident. It follows a series of events that have put the nation on edge. The government banned all protests ahead of Independence Day on December 9, 2025, and there has been a heavy presence of security forces in major cities following the October 29 protests.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has defended the actions of the security forces in trying to quell the October 29 protests, describing them as “organised riots” and the force used as “proportional.” The government has also announced plans for a major overhaul of the police force, aiming to transform it from a “force” to a “service.”
However, critics and human rights organisations remain concerned. A report by Amnesty International in December 2025 documented the use of “unlawful lethal force” by security forces, and United Nations human rights experts have condemned what they term “widespread and systematic human rights violations.”
