Tanzania: Mama Samia cannot manage a tweet…

““Mama Samia, please I beg reduce loitering in other countries, stay at home with your husband, you are somebody’s wife, settle and cook for your husband” (Sukununu01, 13.02.2024).

In Tanzania, the President is easily offended. Apparently this tweet by Sukununu01 has hurt her pride. President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) should act better. It is a petty that the one behind this tweet has been detained, tortured and charged in court for “Insulting the President”.

The tweet itself is sexist and womanizing. I cannot deny that, but is it criminal? That’s another question. It doesn’t seem righteous to arrest, detain and charge someone over a tweet like this. The President and her associates should beg to differ. These are grown people who should acknowledge and know there is different sentiments out there. Not everyone loves the President or her actions. Surely the people of Loliondo won’t sing or dance of joy for the government actions of late. Therefore, this should be a non-starter.

Sukununu01 was just uttering his words. Not that it was done in the best spirit or with sincere well wishes, but should a citizen always do that? Can’t a citizen be frustrated and speak out? Or is the free speech not free? Does the Tanzanian citizens have to censor themselves on Social Media?

That’s the memo I am getting here and the CCM have already stifled the laws of publications and whatever else. President Suluhu is just continuing where Magufuli left off. She is thinner skinned than him. This is getting offended over nothing. It is tragic that she has gone this far. That she is arresting, detaining and charging someone over a sexist remark.

Yes, the sexism of this tweet can be rebuked. That is righteous to do. This isn’t anything new and shouldn’t shock anyone. It is just how society is built and with false expectations. Instead of developing and finding ways of changing with the times. That’s how things goes… and the President should be aware of that.

We have seen cartoonist and others being detained for insulting the President. She has done this before and show her fierce force here. That’s who she is and what she does… it isn’t even funny. However, this is how the authorities are shielding their President. As Her Excellency, she should manage a little criticism and jokes about her character. Especially, since she is in the public eye and cannot just get the glory…

It is just tragic that the Tanzanian authorities are busy doing this. They should know better… and the Tweeter should know better too. There are other ways of arguing and speaking of the President. He should have spoken differently, but that is easy to say after the fact. It was just a thought put on the web without consideration of the implication. Most likely the individual never thought he would get this treatment. However, here he is and he is known for insulting the President.

President Suluhu should know better, but we all know its too much to ask… she isn’t capable or have the capacity to grasp the situation. That’s what power does to you and she bashes in it. Peace.

Tanzania: Directorate of Presidential Communications – President Samia Urges African Countries to Tell Their Own Stories (02.11.2023)

Tanzania: Tundu Lissu arrested….

“The Arusha Regional Police Force is holding the Vice Chairman of the Democratic Party and Mandeleo Hon. Tundu Lissu along with three colleagues of the Party for an interview related to allegations of holding illegal gatherings and preventing Police Officers from carrying out their duties. After the interview and the completion of other formalities, other legal steps will follow.

PROVIDED BY:

JUSTINE MASEJO – ACP

COMMANDER OF POLICE

ARUSHA REGION” (KAMANDA WA POLISI – MKOA WA ARUSHA, 10.09.2023).

Yet again, the opposition leader and the CHADEMA Vice Chairman Lissu was arrested as he planned to hold a rally. This is now thwarted and silenced. His detained together with three others today. The Police informs the public of that much, but we know they made the gathering or the rally as “illegal”.

Tundu Lissu was on his way to visit and hold a rally in Ngorongoro, which is in Maasai territories where the state has plans to evict the Maasai for a foreign business venture there. That is done without consultation with the Maasai and only done so in favour of the elites in the CCM government.

That’s why the state is targeting Lissu and others who sheds a light on the land grabbing in favour of a foreign investors. These will use the land for hunting and a new “tourist” site. Therefore, the state is willing to sell prime assets and land for a quick buck. Which is done without concern or the livelihoods of the Maasai.

The CCM doesn’t want the truth out in Loliondo or in Ngorongoro for that matter. The bitter truth of the foreign investors and what they take from Tanzania. This is the reality and the CCM government have to carry the blame for all of it. They are allowing to be bought and sold for easy money. Instead of serving these communities and even allow the opposition to hold rally there.

CHADEMA Lissu is a villain in the eyes of the CCM. We all know that and they tried to assassinate him at one point. They have arrested him before and do so again. That just shows what the state is willing to do to their enemies. Peace.

Tanzania: Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coaltion (THRDC), Tanzania Constitution Forum (JUKATA) & Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) – Joint Statement – Statement on the Arrest of Human Rights Defenders in Tanzania (15.08.2023)

Tanzania: Remember to salute President Suluhu for the glorious DP World Agreement!

“BREAKING: We have been informed that Hon. Mbowe and Lissu can be arrested at any time. The biggest reason is DP World. Dr. Slaa, Mwabukusi, Madeleka, Mdude Nyagali are in the hands of the police. Dr. Nshala is in EXILE. Samia do not torture the Tanganyikas for the interests of the Arabs. Look at West Africa” (Tanzania Leaks, 13.08.2023).

“Lawyer Alphonce Lusako, who was among those who opened a case against the Port investment agreement between Tanzania and DP World, has said that Lawyer Boniface Mwabukusi and his colleagues who were arrested by the police force in Morogoro region and taken to Mbeya have been on hunger strike since they were arrested. More news has started to spread that the lawyer Mwabukusi will be opened a case of treason for what is alleged to have made statements that allegedly threatened to bring down the administration of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan” (WateteziTV, 13.08.2023).

If Chama Cha Mapundzi (CCM) Government and DP World had made a beneficial or reasonable agreement. We wouldn’t be here today. However, the regime which is lead by non other than President Samia Suluhu Hassan is becoming to hostile to its detractors.

If you ever thought President Suluhu was a reformer or someone who offers change. I sadly have to tell you truth and she’s not. She’s continuing the same repression and totalitarian behaviour of her predecessor, which she was a deputy under. The President learned all the tricks of Magufuli and currently intends to tarnish the whole legacy of CCM.

CCM is acting with swift force and no remorse. There is no middle ground or space to move in. Only their party line and if you don’t accept it. Well, you can end up in the slammer. The authorities will find you and you will be charged by law. Either by treason, offensive communications or whatnot. The state will find some reasons to shield you from public life or even some privacy. They will take you down and you will forget normal life…

That’s what President Suluhu stands for. She has gotten greedy and expect everyone to bow down to her knees. As President she might even have sold crown jewels in the ports to the DP World. Risked valuable assets over a shoddy deal, which the public and the United Republic should never discuss. They should just praise her for misjudgement and misdeeds. While the DP World lives on and will haunt the government. Because, the stipulations and the articles of it can damage the Republic. They can lose assets and loose what used to belong to Tanzania.

Alas, here is the problem. The sovereign state has on its own and without consultation of the public. Possibly traded the future and given way to a huge Middle Easter Company. They have traded away tangible assets and infrastructure for some cheap money. Not thinking about the consequences or future ramifications. While hoping nobody would dare to question it or say otherwise.

Because, President Suluhu and CCM is bound to have the best interests at heart. While it seemingly isn’t so, when anyone and anybody who dares to question or speak out is getting behind bars. When anyone who says or speaks are silenced. They are taking any big-name, lawyer, activists or opposition leader and detaining them. That’s saying something about how bad things are.

This just shows there is something really bad about this DP World Agreement and the President don’t want the public to know. She knows she gave away and conceded valuable assets, which cannot be returned. That’s why she has to retaliate and use law enforcement to silence the ones who challenge her. Peace.

Tanzania: The President plans to “Takeover” TISS

“Part II deals with amendments proposed to various sections. The Act is proposed to be amended generally by removing all the provisions concerning the administration of the Minister responsible for intelligence and security and instead, placing that mandate under the President. The purpose of the amendment is to make the Act conform with the current structure of governance whereby the Security and Intelligence Service is under the direct superintendence of the President and not through the Minister responsible for intelligence and security. The proposed changes take into account the nature of operations of security services across the globe.   Following the proposed change of portfolio that places the Intelligence and Security Service under the mandate of the President, the Act is further proposed to be amended in sections 11, 15, 18 and 19(3) by removing the controls of the Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, the Chief Secretary and the Attorney General of various matters pertaining the administration of intelligence and security.   The Act is proposed to be amended in section 4 with a view of conferring to the Service a defense and security status and to placing it under the general superintendence of the President. The amendments are aimed at complementing a duty which the Service currently executes as one of the defense and security organs in Tanzania” (Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service (Amendment), 09.05.2023).

We are living in interesting times, as the supposed reformer and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu is following the footsteps of her predecessor. She is no difference than what late President Magufuli would have done. This amendment of the TISS ACT is following and copying the style of governance that the late President would have done in a heartbeat.

The Chama Cha Mapundzi (CCM) is continuing their path to consolidate and have all power within its reach. That’s what is happening here and it’s so obvious. This amendment and the articles in it will only benefit the President. The President and the CCM will only get less accountable and have more power. That’s all this is about and it’s not about positive or inclusive reform. No, that would be a lie.

The Tanzanian President would have the oversight and direct control of TISS before any Minister or Attorney General. Meaning the Ministry and the Attorney General will be side-lined and have less of a say. They are not included and not privy to the facts.

In addition, which is also a basis of worry is that the officers in TISS getting a broader scope of immunity. Meaning the officers that his now directly under the Presidency now got less concerned with the law or implications of their activities. That’s a way of securing a police state and ensuring the law enforcement to issue injustice on a large scale.

Seeing the TISS Amendment Bill of 2023 is depressing. The CCM and the President is securing itself with vast powers here. The intelligence agency will be bound by the President and not by the Ministry or the Judiciary through the Attorney General. Therefore, Director General Said Hassan Nassoro will only have to answer to the President and nobody else. That is giving him and the President lots of freedoms. While the officers of the TISS will also easily get off the hook.

People should get worried about this and this will be a dangerous statement from the CCM. The ones believing that the President would reform and for a better society is wrong. This is a way of the CCM and the President to takeover more, and have less oversight. It is a dream for a dictator and a tyrant. That the security and intelligence agency is directed under you and nobody else. It is a fact that this is what the ones hungry for power wants. Because the TISS is now only beholden to one person and there are no laws overlooking it. Meaning the words of the President is the bond and the orders of the day. Therefore, Tanzanian citizens should be worried and concerned about TISS. Peace.

Tanzania: Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism – Tanzania is Safe for Tourists (09.04.2023)

Tanzania: Loliondo land-grab – Hon. Masauni claims it is Kenyan migrants fault…

“Engineer Masauni challenged immigration officers at all exit and entry points, to be extra vigilant in curbing such illegal entries into Tanzania. “The immigration department should come up with effective strategies to control such an increasing trend, which is likely to jeopardise our peace and security,” directed Masauni, shortly before inspecting the ongoing exercise of demarcating the 1,500 square kilometers of the Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LGCA)” (…) “The Minister’s directive comes in the wake of reports of immigrants from neighboring countries who take advantage of long porous borders to enter and operate illegally in Tanzania. Engineer Masauni said that there have been reports of illegal immigrants entering the country, singling out the Loliondo area as a worst case scenario, where hundreds herds of cattle have been found grazing within the LGCA, threatening the Serengeti-Ngorongoro ecosystem” (Edward Qorro – ‘Tanzania: Immigration Tasked to Intensify Border Security’ 15.06.2022, Tanzania Daily News).

Let’s be perfectly clear… this is excuses. The main culprit is the Tanzanian state and the authorities who has sold land to a foreign company, which wants to use that for trophy hunting and game-drives. That is the Tanzanian government trading away ancestral territories for a Middle Eastern Company. This is what is happening to the Masaai land and the Loliondo areas.

Where the state has brutally displaced people and used violent means to do so. People are arrested and taken away for defending their rights to live on the land. Now, the authorities and the Minister blaming immigration and making up a false problem. Where the Tanzanian government claims the Kenyan government is allowing illegal migration and undocumented people from their bordering territories. That is really saying something…

The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) should self-reflect on their own actions and what they are really doing. It is their interests over a historical and indigenous land, which is their responsibility to protect. Instead they are serving the interests of the tourism industry and one company. That is really compelling and telling. The interest is the common good, but a quick buck on selling out traditions and exploiting that.

The Tanzanian government cannot come with excuses like this. That should get pushback from Nairobi and the Jubilee Party. There is a need for President Uhuru Kenyatta to call President Samia Suluhu. Especially, when the Hon. Hamad Masauni, the Minister of Home Office has been saying this to the media. He is coming with allegations, which is blaming Kenya for the trouble in the border region of Tanzania.

However, everyone with some common sense. It is the land-grabbing and the internal conflicts, which is the reason. If the Tanzanian government had respected the indigenous land and not sold it. That’s the reason for the aftermath and all the pushback. This is very easy, but the CCM is making it very hard.

Hon. Masauni is speaking out of line. Since their actions is actually causing migrations from Tanzania to Maasai territory on the other side of border into Kenya. Therefore, it would be fair for Kenya to speak of the refugees and fleeing Maasai brothers who fled the brutal eviction in the Loliondo area. That’s saying something and the Tanzanian government isn’t the victim.

The Maasai people of the Loliondo area are the victims and the hurt ones here. The CCM is the one who profits on the misery of the Maasai people. Just so a Middle Eastern company can get territories to show the beauty of Tanzania. A beauty that was destroyed for the ones who actually resided there… Peace.

Tanzania: Loliondo land-grab – When tourism beats the ownership of indigenous land…

“The Tanzanian government is intending to resume the eviction of about 70,000 Maasai community in Loliondo to make room for trophy hunting and elite tourism. The move, which will involve dispossessing over 70,000 Maasai pastoralists of 1500sq km of their ancestral land. This is aimed at creating room for Ortello Business Company, a hunting firm owned by the United Arab Emirates’ royal family, as part of investment for the government” (Western Nyota TV, 13.06.2022).

The Chama Cha Mapundzi (CCM) don’t care and isn’t concerned with the rule of law. As the commercial interests of the tourism industry and a foreign investors involvement matters more. That’s why Maasai territories are now possibly evicted for the sole purpose of an investor making a game-drive. So, that the animals can be seen by foreigners visiting and ensuring profits to the state coffers.

That’s done without the consent of the Masaai people or their ancestral rights to territories in question. This is why they have been demonstrating, because the state is violently and brutally evicting them from their homeland. Just so one investor can have a safari company and game-drive in the area. That’s really not developing, but ceasing territory for man’s pleasure and his company.

“According to reliable information received by IWGIA, the Tanzanian state is currently moving ahead to grab 1,500 km2 of ancestral and legally registered village land belonging to the Maasai Indigenous people in the Loliondo division of Ngorongoro District in northern Tanzania. This land grab will forcefully evict the Maasai from their land. This is happening despite the fact that the East African Court of Justice is expected to issue a ruling on this matter on 22 June 2022. On 7 June 2022, a paramilitary group of around 700 people (mainly police, park rangers, military and other security forces) arrived in Loliondo to demarcate the 1,500 km2 area of land as a Game Reserve1. This land is the ancestral land of the Maasai people who have formalized land tenure rights to this land as per the Village Land Act No.5 of 1999. The demarcation of this land as a Game Reserve will effectively dispossess the Maasai people of their ancestral land since people and livestock will not be allowed to live in a Game Reserve” (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) – ‘Urgent Alert: New serious threats towards the Maasai people of Loliondo in Tanzania’ 13.06.2022).

“Over 100,000 Maasai are facing a forcefully eviction from their ancestral land in Loliondo and Ngorongoro, Tanzania Maasai have been living in Lolondo and Ngorongoro before Tanzania gained independence. The eviction is purely to making way for Trophy Hunting” (Tanzania Leaks, 13.06.2022).

This here shouldn’t be accepted and people should speak out on the matter. It isn’t righteous and fair. Clearly it is injustice, pure and simple. Tanzanian authorities and state is doing practically a land-grab and with violent means to get their way. This eviction isn’t done with measures of fairness or compensation. No, these are people who is violently removed and evicted from their territories, which have been theirs for generations.

That the Tanzanian authorities are doing this and using all sorts of violent ways. Just shows the world how unjust this is. The CCM and the President knows this as they are just serving a Middle Eastern company “prime-real-estate” for safari and a game-drive. That’s why they are doing this and showing the lack of care or concern for the people who belongs in this territory.

If CCM and the President wanted a favourable look. This wasn’t it. They are just displaying brutality and what they do for some cheap coins. Peace.

Tanzania: ACT Wazalendo – Attention to the Public and Media: Ongoing crisis in Loliondo (12.06.2022)