Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Monday, July 17, 2023.
Hungary’s first female president Novák in Tanzania to meet with her Tanzanian counterpart
President Katalin Novák of Hungary arrived in Tanzania yesterday evening as she is embarking on a three-day state visit to the East African nation to renew the cooperation between the two countries.
Novák, who became the first woman to be the president of her Central European nation of Hungary, arrived in Tanzania from Rwanda, where among other activities, she participated in the Women Deliver 2023 event, a yearly conference that advocates for women, girls, and underrepresented groups.
While in Tanzania, Novák will meet her Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu Hassan, who also became the country’s first female president in 2021 following the death of her predecessor John Magufuli.
President Samia is expected to host her guest at the Dar es Salaam State House today, July 18, 2023. This diplomatic engagement aims to foster and strengthen the bilateral relations between Hungary and Tanzania.
Tanzania and Hungary have enjoyed robust diplomatic and educational ties, which have flourished over the years. Hungary has been actively sponsoring Tanzanian students in various fields of study, including bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in science, engineering, mathematics, communication, and more.
This educational partnership highlights the commitment of Hungary to support Tanzania’s human capital development and contribute to its scientific and academic progress.
The diplomatic and economic relations between Tanzania and Hungary date back to the 1980s, and recent efforts have focused on revitalising and expanding these ties. Despite a period of decline, both countries are now working towards restoring their relationship to its previous strength.
The visit of President Novák to Tanzania is expected to enhance the economic cooperation between the two countries, exploring new avenues for trade and investment and fostering cultural exchange between the two nations.
Democracy identified as prerequisite to development
Former and serving heads of state and governments Monday underscored the relationship between democracy and a country’s ability to maintain peace, stability and prosperity, with President Samia Suluhu Hassan, for instance, admitting that she doesn’t see any alternative to democracy.
The leaders acknowledged democracy’s invaluable role in nation-building during the Africa Drive for Democracy Elders’ Retreat at the Gran Melia Hotel in Arusha. The retreat is part of several activities accompanying the 2023 Drive for Democracy Conference, which will occur between July 19 and July 21 in the city.
Jointly organised by the Center for Strategic Litigation (CSL), the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS TCDC), the conference will bring together over 300 participants from across Africa to discuss the issue of democratic backsliding facing the continent.
Monday’s retreat involved former heads of state and governments from Tanzania (Jakaya Kikwete), Siera Leone (Ernest Bai Koroma), Mozambique (Joaquim Chissano), and Ethiopia (Hailemariam Desalegn). President Samia inaugurated the retreat before she joined the elders in a conversation on democracy in a closed meeting.
Full story here.
Arusha, Tanzania: Former African Leaders Reflect on the State of Democracy in Africa. pic.twitter.com/1H3VQVeMyn
— The Chanzo (@TheChanzo) July 17, 2023
Lawyer Madeleka arrested hours after court cancelled plea bargaining agreement with DPP
Police Monday arrested lawyer Peter Madeleka hours after the High Court in the city cancelled a plea bargaining he entered with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in a 2020 economic sabotage case, the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) said.
Mr Madeleka petitioned the High Court to force the government to pay him back the money – Sh2,200,000 – he paid to the government as part of the agreement to have his charges of economic sabotage dropped.
Madeleka told reporters at the court soon before he was arrested that he petitioned the court with the motion because procedures were ignored in the entire plea bargaining process. For this reason, the presiding judge cancelled the agreement, directing that the case starts afresh.
But Mr Madeleka was arrested immediately after he came out of the court’s precincts, with his lawyer, Simon Mbwambo, telling reporters that police did not inform him why they were arresting his client.
“I don’t know why arrested him,” Mbwambo told reporters at the court. “They took him to the RCO [Regional Crime Officer] for questioning. Maybe it is part of the process to begin the case afresh.”
Full story here.
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