Dar es Salaam – A former Tanzanian cabinet minister is taking legal action against the government after immigration authorities confiscated his passport, and those of his wife and three children, as they attempted to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Geoffrey Mwambe, a former minister of industry and trade, filed a case at the High Court in Dar es Salaam on January 20, 2026, seeking the immediate return of the family’s travel documents.
The move comes over a month after the passports were seized at two separate border posts on December 17, 2025, with authorities providing no official reason for the confiscation.
The High Court has given the government two days to respond to the allegations, a significantly shorter period than the 14 days the state had requested, underscoring the urgency of the matter. The case is scheduled to be heard on January 23, 2026.
Mr Mwambe was travelling to Germany via Kenya for medical treatment for an unspecified illness. His wife and three minor children were separately travelling to Kenya for a holiday.
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According to court documents, immigration officials at the Namanga border post stopped Mr Mwambe, claiming his passport indicated he was still a public servant and required special permission to travel.
Despite his explanation that he is no longer a Member of Parliament, his passport was retained after a seven-hour ordeal. A similar incident occurred with his family at the Sirari border post.
This action by the immigration authorities appears to contravene a 2020 landmark ruling by the Court of Appeal of Tanzania.
In the case of Aidan Eyakuze, a prominent civil society leader whose passport was also seized during an investigation into his citizenship, the court ruled that the government has no legal power to confiscate a citizen’s passport without a court order or unless the individual is facing criminal charges.
The court stated that taking a passport during an investigation, without any charges being levelled, is illegal.
Mr Mwambe’s legal challenge comes shortly after he was arrested on December 7, 2025, and held for a week on suspicion of plotting to assassinate an unnamed police chief and for online incitement.
He was released on police bail on December 14, 2025, and has denied the allegations. His lawyers have stated that his health deteriorated while in custody.
A former senior economist at the Bank of Tanzania, Mr Mwambe has held several high-profile government positions, including serving as the executive director of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), now Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA).
He was appointed Minister of Industry and Trade in 2021 by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, but was dropped from the cabinet in a reshuffle in January 2022. In July 2025, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party removed him from its list of parliamentary candidates.
His recent legal troubles have been linked by some commentators to internal political tensions within the ruling party.
Mr Mwambe’s lawyer, Hekima Mwasipu, told journalists outside the court that the seizure of the passports was unlawful and had prevented his client from seeking necessary medical attention abroad.
“The passports have been held contrary to the law, and no reasons have been given for their seizure,” Mr Mwasipu said.
Court documents filed by Mr Mwambe argue that the confiscation of the passports is a violation of his constitutional right to freedom of movement and that the action is “legally void and violates the principles of natural justice.”
