Samia: Why more women judges needed

By Innara Dossa

Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan said yesterday that she was deliberately raising the number of women judges to bridge the gender gap and also tap into women’s God-given strengths in the delivery of justice.

Speaking during the swearing in ceremony of 22 High Court Judges who the Head of State appointed about three weeks ago, President Hassan said women judges were endowed with more qualities that turn them into better individuals in the delivery of justice.

Out of the 22, 10 were women.

This means that women now account for 37 percent of the total number of judges in the country, up from 35 percent a few weeks ago.

The 22 Judges were appointed from among 71 legal experts who were recommended in the hope that the President would finally appoint 47 as judges from the number.

President Hassan said she picked only 22 judges due to budgetary constraints, exuding her hope, however, that those picked would do a good job for Tanzanians.

She urged them to do their duties with integrity, humility and consider utmost professionalism.

This is the second time that President Hassan has appointed judges since she ascended to the highest office in the land on March 19, 2021.

President Hassan has since appointed a total of 43 High Court Judges and nine more for the Court of Appeal. Out of the number, 23 are women. “My aim is that going forward, we should reach the 50-50 threshold for men and women judges,” said Ms Hassan.

According to her, she was not only picking women for the sake of it.

“As matters of fact, apart from abiding by the constitution and the rule of law in the making of judgments, which women are also good at when I come to considering traditions and norms in the delivery of justice,” she said.

She said complaints regarding the conduct of the Judiciary have gone down during the past few months due to the rise in the number of women Judges, good governance, professionalism of the Judicial Service Commission and improvement of working conditions, among others.

Earlier, the Chief Justice Prof Ibrahim Juma acknowledged the President’s role in trying to bridge the gender gap in the Judiciary and in upping their number so they can serve Tanzanians effectively.

He said prior to the appointment of the each Judge would handle a total of 340 cases per year but with the 22 new ones, each will now have to handle 265 per year.

Also sworn-in at yesterday’s event was the new Commissioner General of Prisons, Mr Ramadhan Nyamka.

President Hassan directed Mr Nyamka to ensure that the rise in budget for the prisons department does benefit all prisons.

She said the prisons department had a noble task of educating the inmates so that they become reformed and good citizens after serving their sentences.