Zanzibar – The opposition party ACT Wazalendo has strongly condemned a new government directive requiring high school graduates from Zanzibar to join the mandatory National Service (JKT), a move that breaks with decades-long precedent.
In a statement issued on May 31, 2026, the party argued that the directive violates the constitutional arrangement between mainland Tanzania and the semi-autonomous archipelago. According to the party, JKT is not a Union instrument and therefore lacks the legal mandate to conscript Zanzibari youth.
“ACT Wazalendo strongly opposes this statement and this procedure, particularly the act of forcefully including youth from Zanzibar, for constitutional, structural reasons, and to protect the authority and respect of Zanzibar’s institutions,” the party’s Secretary for Ideology, Publicity and Public Communications, Salim Bimani, said in the statement.
Historically, Zanzibari youth have been exempt from mandatory enlistment in JKT, which was established to foster national unity and patriotism on the mainland. Instead, Zanzibar operates its own equivalent institution, the Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi (JKU), or Economic Building Army.
The controversy began when the National Service announced opportunities for youth from both the mainland and Zanzibar to join the 2026 voluntary training programme earlier this year.
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This was followed by a more stringent directive on May 28, 2026, mandating that all Form Six leavers, including those from Zanzibar, report to JKT camps.
The government has framed the initiative as a necessary step to build patriotism and national unity. This push comes in the wake of severe political unrest following the October 29, 2025, General Election, which resulted in significant violence and loss of life.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has recently emphasised the need for national reconciliation and unity, establishing a commission of inquiry to investigate the post-election violence.
Interestingly, the commission’s report noted that Zanzibar was visited as a “sample of areas that did not have violence,” highlighting the region’s relative stability during the crisis.
Despite the government’s stated intentions, ACT Wazalendo views the JKT directive as an overreach that undermines Zanzibar’s autonomy. The party claims that requiring JKT training as a prerequisite for employment in Union security organs—such as the Police Force, Immigration Department, and the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF)—is discriminatory against Zanzibaris who have already completed their JKU training.
“Demanding a Zanzibari to go to JKT to qualify to join the TPDF or Police is a systemic strategy to discriminate against them and deny opportunities to Zanzibari youth who have already graduated from JKU,” Bimani stated.
The party also directed criticism at Zanzibar’s President, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, accusing him of remaining silent on the issue and failing to defend the archipelago’s institutions.
The statement suggested that Dr Mwinyi’s previous role as the Union’s Minister of Defence might be influencing his current stance, leading him to favour JKT over Zanzibar’s own JKU. But there is no evidence to suggest that this may actually be the case.
“It is very sad, although not surprising, that the Minister of Zanzibar responsible for JKU is the one who comes out publicly to demand that Zanzibari youth be sent to JKT instead of the JKU he oversees,” the statement read.
ACT Wazalendo has called for the immediate suspension of the mandatory call-up for Zanzibari Form Six graduates, urging that the process be left in the hands of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar through JKU.
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The party is also demanding clear declarations that JKU training certificates are sufficient criteria for employment within Union security organs.
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions regarding the balance of power between the Union government and Zanzibar. While the government seeks to consolidate national identity in the aftermath of electoral violence, the opposition remains vigilant against policies perceived as eroding the archipelago’s semi-autonomous rights.
