Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.
Mwabukusi faulted disqualification in TLS election: ‘There is a faction working to frustrate democratic processes, they act as if they own the bar association’
Boniface Mwabukusi a firebrand lawyer and activist has faulted his disqualification as TLS presidential candidate by the Electoral Appeals Committee of the Tanganyika Law Society saying it was not done in good faith and lacks legal merit.
Mwabukusi, one of six candidates for the TLS Chairperson post, had initially survived several objections raised against his candidacy. The Electoral Committee had nominated him after finding the objections meritless.
Still, on July 05, 2024, the Electoral Appeals Committee which is made up of five senior lawyers including Benedict B. Mwingwa (Rtd) Judge, Constantine Mutalemwa, Beatus Malima, Mary J. Munisi, Nakazaeli Lukio Tenga disqualified him on ethical grounds.
“The appeal committee observed that although the Electoral Committee found Advocate Boniface Mwabukusi to have met the criteria, the appeal body itself found that there was a criterion he did not meet, and therefore deemed him ineligible or unqualified to continue as a candidate for the presidency within TLS,” said Nelson Frank, Electoral Committee secretary during TLS press on July 06, 2024.
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President Samia defends ousted Tax Boss. Here is why the new Commissioner has his work cut out
President Samia Suluhu defended the ousted Tanzania Revenue Authority Commissioner, Alphayo J. Kidata, and explained his quality of integrity made him a target. This was revealed by the President during a state house function at the Tunguu State House in Zanzibar on July 05, 2024.
“TRA under Kidata did very well, but why have I removed him? I saw that he was going to lose it, the way he was being hounded,” explained President Samia as she made Kidata Presidential tax advisor or as she put it President’s right-hand man on tax issues.
President Samia removed Kidata from the role on July 02, 2024, when he appointed Yusuph Juma Mwenda as the new Commissioner. Mwenda is assuming the post coming from his role as the Commissioner of Zanzibar Revenue Authority.
TRA was the center of the public discussion for the past three weeks starting with the trader’s strike which started on June 24, 2024, and was concluded on June 27, 2024. Moreover, on June 28, 2024, a letter from several ambassadors highlighting TRA repression to investors was circulated online together with its response from Tanzania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the ministry agreed to organize the dialogue.
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Deaths and disappearances of healthcare workers raise alarm
The KCMC Referral Hospital in Moshi, Kilimanjaro region, announced to the public on Sunday, July 7, 2024, about the disappearance of one of its nurses, Lenga Ng’hajabu, who has been missing since July 4, 2024. Lenga Ng’hajabu, a nurse at the Northern Zone KCMC Referral Hospital, has gone missing under mysterious circumstances, having not reported to work for four consecutive days, and his phone has been unreachable.
Ng’hajabu, who works in the Ear, Nose, and Throat department at the hospital, has not been seen at work since July 4, 2024, and as of yesterday, his whereabouts remain unknown. This statement from KCMC Referral Hospital comes shortly after several reports of nurses and doctors disappearing and later being found dead in different parts of the country.
It should be recalled that at the end of last week, the body of Daudi Kwibuja, a pharmacist at Isansa Health Center in Mbozi district, was found beside the Tunduma – Mbeya road, in Mlowo area, with injuries, and it is believed he died on July 3, 2024.
The regional police commander, Agustino Senga, stated that initial investigations revealed he was killed on the night of July 3, 2024, before his body was discovered the following morning. It was initially thought he died in a car accident, but upon examination, the body showed injuries inconsistent with a car accident, prompting continued investigation.
In Arusha region, the body of Elinsia Japhet Uronu (44), a senior nurse at Meru District Hospital, was found decomposed in the Nduruma River, seven days after she went missing under mysterious circumstances. Elinsia, who was mostly attending to outpatients, disappeared from her home on June 27, 2024, before her body was found decomposed on July 4, 2024, beside the Nduruma River.
Arusha Regional Police Commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP), Justine Masejo, confirmed the incident and stated that investigations are ongoing. “We are continuing with investigations to determine whether the death was natural or if there was foul play,” said Masejo.
This situation continues to raise alarm and uncertainty regarding the ongoing incidents affecting healthcare workers.
Small political parties matter: Reflections on South Africa’s government of national unity
In everyday life, as well as in geopolitics and electoral politics, size plays a significant role. Larger entities tend to receive higher ratings. In democratic systems, political parties come in various sizes—some small, others large. When we describe a political party as ‘big,’ we are referring to the number of seats it holds in the National Assembly, which reflects its popularity. Conversely, if a party is considered ‘small,’ it contradicts the aforementioned criteria.
A few days ago, the elected president of South Africa for the new term Cyril Ramaphosa announced his cabinet of the Government of National Unity (GNU), something South Africa has not experienced since the Mandela era, when the ANC formed a government with NP and IFP.
For context, South Africa held elections around May this year, and the ruling party, ANC, failed to secure a majority, ending up with 40.18 percent of the vote, which translates to 159 seats. An outright majority in South Africa’s parliamentary democracy requires crossing the 50.1 percent threshold, equivalent to 201 seats.
Read the full analysis here
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