Tanzania's Bishops call for removal of immunity for government leaders

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) has called for the removal of the immunity of national leaders to enshrine the concept of equality before the law for all Tanzanians, as provided for by the Constitution of the country and as part of the will of God.

The TEC referred to Article 12(1) of the 1977 Constitution of Tanzania, which states that all human beings are born free and all are equal, while Article 13(1) of the same constitution states that all people are equal before the law and have the right to protection without any discrimination.

Read: Tanzania passes Bill to give leaders immunity

However, the TEC noted that Article 131(2) of the Constitution states that no one is allowed to file a lawsuit against the president of the country for anything she or he did or failed to do personally before or after assuming the office of the presidency.

“That’s why there is a demand for a new constitution so that the immunity is removed; people now understand that we are all equal, whether you are the president, rich or poor, we are all equal,” Rev Dr Camilius Kassala, TEC’s Director of Human Dignity Directorate, told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday. Fr Kassala noted that the issue is one of the four areas proposed before the members of the presidential commission on reforming the criminal justice system.

Commenting further on the issue, Dr Rugelemeza Nshala, a TEC lawyer, said: “I am a believer in equality, and all people should have equal rights before the law.”

Currently, leaders of all three pillars of government have immunity from prosecution, and all cases against them are filed against the Attorney General.

For his part, lawyer Fulgence Massawe said: “The president swears to protect the Constitution, but when he or she violates it, and it is the Attorney General who is sued, which means you sue the government for the mistakes made by someone else,” said Mr Massawe.

For his part, lawyer Patience Mlowe said it is only in Africa where leaders are glorified like gods, adding that things are different elsewhere.

He noted that in other countries outside Africa, action is taken against leaders whenever they commit crimes. She cited the example of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was charged with breaking the law during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

“The democracy that we have been singing about is copied from the West; now what kind of democracy are we implementing if we revere leaders as demigods?” Mlowe queried. According to Mr Mlowe, in order to have a righteous leader, there must be an environment that obligates him or her to obey the law, and this should only be in a situation where there are legal consequences for his or her actions.

For her part, Fatma Karume said that since no citizen is above the law, even the immunity of the president is supposed to be removed so that there can be equality for all before the law.

“The president is a citizen like any other. He or she cannot be above the law. When he or she commits a crime, he or she is supposed to be under the law, and action must be taken against him or her like,” she noted.

In another development, the National Muslim Council of Tanzania (Bakwata) has called for the amendment of five Acts, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act in Tanzania of 2002, which gives authority to police officers to shoot and kill a suspected terrorist before being found guilty by a court of law.