Since Samia Suluhu Hassan took over the top position in Tanzania, she has changed the tone of the political landscape. But a growing number of oppositionists and activists want her to go the extra mile and change the constitution. They claim that doing so would set in motion a solution to the ever-present problems Tanzanians still face.
The current constitution of Tanzania was adopted in 1977 by senior members of the ruling party, when the country was a one-party state. But having come out of a near one-party situation under the former President John Magufuli, members of the opposition are looking for ways to ensure that the country stays on its current trajectory and does not lapse again.
The opposition believes that one of the main results of a constitutional change would be elevation of Tanzanians from the current situation that creates political and economic divisions. They say it would provide a blue-print for future situations should Tanzania finds itself in a potentially dangerous period.
Aikande Clement Kwayu, an Independent researcher & Honorary Research Fellow (2018-2022), University of Wisconsin-Madison explains:
Tanzania’s president issued a statement in June 2016 announcing a ban on political rallies outside campaign periods. The ban was unconstitutional.
Article 20 (1) of the constitution of Tanzania allows for public assembly. Other laws, such as the Political Parties Act and the Parliamentary Immunities, Powers and Privilege Act, give political parties and politicians the right to conduct rallies.
Despite these laws, it took another presidential statement in January 2023 to unban rallies. This illustrates the power of the president – even over the constitution.
Opposition parties and activists have noted that this great presidential power is a constitutional loophole. The Tanzanian constitution has proved to be weak in protecting itself.
A constitution can protect itself if it has clear checks and balances. With imperial presidential powers, the constitution gives the executive branch of government the upper hand over the two other branches of government: the judiciary and legislature.
Such powers – and their abuse – have led opposition parties and activists to call for constitutional reviews.
There are four reasons driving the agitation for constitutional change in Tanzania: unfree and unfair elections; unchecked presidential powers; political impunity; and the skewed political arrangement between Tanzania and Zanzibar.
Entrenching dominance
Recent calls for constitutional change in Tanzania began in 2010. A constitutional review commission was set up in 2012, headed by former prime minister Joseph Warioba. The commission drafted a report, and a constitutional review assembly was set up to debate it.
The review assembly was dominated by members of the ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi. They altered the Warioba report and proposed a draft constitution similar to the existing one. A coalition of opposition parties boycotted the process and it stalled.
Maintaining the same constitution has been the ruling party’s strategy. The current constitution facilitates one-party dominance by entrenching the party’s and president’s power.
Further review was stopped by president John Pombe Magufuli, who came into power in 2015. Magufuli rejected any calls for constitutional reforms – and acted in a way that disregarded the existing law.
Read more: Tanzania’s John Magufuli: a brilliant start but an ignominious end
Chasing change
The four triggers for constitutional reform in Tanzania are related.
1. Repeated unfree and unfair elections
In Tanzania, unfree and unfair elections began after the constitution was amended in 1992 to allow for multi-party elections. Since then, there have been six general elections. Each has been marred by accusations of an unlevel playing field, rigging and violence. The 2020 general election was especially violent.
Constitutional reform is crucial to realise free and fair elections. This is because the composition of the electoral commission as provided for by the constitution is bound to be biased. The president, who is often the incumbent candidate and the chairperson of the ruling party, is responsible for appointing the executive director and commissioners of the commission. All election returning officers at the constituency level are also presidential appointees.
The consequence is that electoral officials are likely to be loyal to their appointing authority rather than to the ideals of free and fair elections.
Additionally, once the presidential vote has been announced, the constitution doesn’t allow for it to be challenged in court.
2. Unchecked presidential powers
Under the current constitution, the president of Tanzania has enormous power. He or she appoints senior officials in other branches of government and all heads of public institutions. This includes the chief justice, all other judges and the inspector general of police. The president also appoints the controller audit general, who audits government accounts.
Through loyalty, these appointees are likely to enforce the president’s statements even if they are unconstitutional.
Further, the president cannot be prosecuted as per Article 46 of the constitution. The president is protected during and after their tenure in office. Such provisions promote impunity.
3. Impunity
Impunity in Tanzania plays out where one group of people can do what they like politically, while another group – in particular opposition politicians – faces excessive exposure to an unjust system.
Trumped up charges against opposition leaders, activists and business people deemed critical of the president are popular tools for keeping critics silent. Such charges, facilitated by undemocratic laws, were used during Magufuli’s regime. Magufuli died in March 2021 and was succeeded by Samia Suluhu Hassan.
In the early days of Hassan’s administration, in July 2021, Freeman Mbowe, the leader of the opposition party Chadema, was arrested and charged with terrorism offences. Due to political pressure – and a failure to find evidence – the charges were dropped. Mbowe spent eight months in jail.
After his release in March 2022, Hassan expressed her determination to boost the country’s democracy. She has also expressed her resentment of the unjust political system and called out corruption at the office of public prosecutions.
But presidential sentiments like these are not adequate as they don’t lead to institutional changes in political structures or norms.
4. The Tanzania-Zanzibar agreement
This is arguably the most contentious trigger for calls for constitutional reform.
The political relationship between the island of Zanzibar and the mainland, Tanzania, has raised calls for Zanzibari autonomy. The government of the United Republic of Tanzania deals with union matters, as well as all mainland issues. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar deals with the matters of Zanzibar only.
Opposition leaders have argued that the constitution and this current structure increase the ruling party’s influence in Zanzibari politics. Constitutional debate on this issue is often around four proposed structures: one joint government, two governments, three governments (with the union being the third tier), or a confederation with a central authority.
What next?
The underlying call for constitutional reform seeks to uproot the one-party state system to allow for accountability and democratic progress in Tanzania. Under the current constitution, any pronouncements of change are cosmetic, with no sustainable effects.
For Tanzania to realise real and sustainable democracy, a new constitution is necessary.
Aikande Clement Kwayu, Independent researcher & Honorary Research Fellow (2018-2022), University of Wisconsin-Madison
Source: allafrica.com
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Tanzania Confirms Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease
Dodoma — Tanzania today confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one case tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease.
President of the Republic of Tanzania, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, made the announcement during a press briefing alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.
“Laboratory tests conducted in Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one patient as being infected with the Marburg virus. Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative,” the president said. “We have demonstrated in the past our ability to contain a similar outbreak and are determined to do the same this time around.”
A total of 25 suspected cases have been reported as of 20 January 2025, all of whom have tested negative and are currently under close follow-up, the president said. The cases have been reported in Biharamulo and Muleba districts in Kagera.
“We have resolved to reassure the general public in Tanzania and the international community as a whole of our collective determination to address the global health challenges, including the Marburg virus disease,” said H.E President Hassan.
WHO is supporting Tanzanian health authorities to enhance key outbreak control measures including disease surveillance, testing, treatment, infection prevention and control, case management, as well as increasing public awareness among communities to prevent further spread of the virus.
“WHO, working with its partners, is committed to supporting the government of Tanzania to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer future for all the people of Tanzania,” said Dr Tedros. “Now is a time for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in Tanzania, and the region, from the risks posed by this disease.”
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
“The declaration by the president and the measures being taken by the government are crucial in addressing the threat of this disease at the local and national levels as well as preventing potential cross-border spread,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Our priority is to support the government to rapidly scale up measures to effectively respond to this outbreak and safeguard the health of the population,”
Tanzania previously reported an outbreak of Marburg in March 2023 – the country’s first – in Kagera region, in which a total of nine cases (eight confirmed and one probable) and six deaths were reported, with a case fatality ratio of 67%.
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In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Although several promising candidate medical countermeasures are currently undergoing clinical trials, there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for effective management or prevention of Marburg virus disease. However, early access to treatment and supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improve survival.
Source: allafrica.com
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Tanzania Confirms Second Marburg Outbreak After WHO Chief Visit
Dar es Salaam — Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has declared an outbreak of Marburg virus, confirming a single case in the northwestern region of Kagera after a meeting with WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The confirmation follows days of speculation about a possible outbreak in the region, after the WHO reported a number of deaths suspected to be linked to the highly infectious disease.
While Tanzania’s Ministry of Health declared last week that all suspected cases had tested negative for Marburg, the WHO called for additional testing at international reference laboratories.
“We never know when an outbreak might occur in a neighbouring nation. So we ensure infection prevention control assessments at every point of care as routine as a morning greeting at our workplaces.”Amelia Clemence, public health researcher
Subsequent laboratory tests conducted at Kagera’s Kabaile Mobile Laboratory and confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one positive case, while 25 other suspected cases tested negative, the president told a press conference in Dodoma, in the east of the country today (Monday).
“The epicentre has now shifted to Biharamulo district of Kagera,” she told the press conference, distinguishing this outbreak from the previous one centred in Bukoba district.
Tedros said the WHO would release US$3 million from its emergencies contingency fund to support efforts to contain the outbreak.
Health authorities stepped up surveillance and deployed emergency response teams after the WHO raised the alarm about nine suspected cases in the region, including eight deaths.
The suspected cases displayed symptoms consistent with Marburg infection, including headache, high fever, diarrhoea, and haemorrhagic complications, according to the WHO’s alert to member countries on 14 January. The organisation noted a case fatality rate of 89 per cent among the suspected cases.
“We appreciate the swift attention accorded by the WHO,” Hassan said.
She said her administration immediately investigated the WHO’s alert.
“The government took several measures, including the investigation of suspected individuals and the deployment of emergency response teams,” she added.
Cross-border transmission
The emergence of this case in a region that experienced Tanzania’s first-ever Marburg outbreak in March 2023 has raised concerns about cross-border transmission, particularly following Rwanda’s recent outbreak that infected 66 people and killed 15 before being declared over in December 2024.
The situation is particularly critical given Kagera’s position as a transport hub connecting four East African nations.
Amelia Clemence, a public health researcher working in the region, says constant vigilance is required.
“We never know when an outbreak might occur in a neighbouring nation. So we ensure infection prevention control assessments at every point of care as routine as a morning greeting at our workplaces.”
The Kagera region’s ecosystem, home to fruit bats that serve as natural reservoirs for the Marburg virus, adds another layer of complexity to disease surveillance efforts.
The virus, closely related to Ebola, spreads through contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever.
Transparency urged
Elizabeth Sanga, shadow minister of health for Tanzania’s ACT Wazalendo opposition party, says greater transparency would help guide public health measures.
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“This could have helped to guide those who are traveling to the affected region to be more vigilant and prevent the risk of further spread,” she said.
WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti says early notification of investigation outcomes is important.
“We stand ready to support the government in its efforts to investigate and ensure that measures are in place for an effective and rapid response,” she said, noting that existing national capacities built from previous health emergencies could be quickly mobilised.
The situation coincides with leadership changes in Tanzania’s Ministry of Health, with both the chief medical officer and permanent secretary being replaced.
This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
Source: allafrica.com
