Tanzania: Below the Radar - How Human Rights Abuses Are Being Ignored in Tanzania

In 2005 Jakaya Kikwete came to power as President of Tanzania on the back of anti-corruption rhetoric and assurances of good governance. Under his on-going presidency, economic growth has risen significantly but has not translated into a significant reduction in poverty.

Allegations of grand corruption remain rampant with Kikwete providing little more than rhetorical evidence of his anti-corruption stand. Huge finds of oil and gas have also made Tanzania increasingly of interest to international business.

But a closer examination of Kikwete's portrayal of Tanzania as an emblem of good governance and a haven for foreign investment reveals a disturbing picture that Western donors are refusing to acknowledge.

Corruption is increasing along with police brutality and the abuse of law on all levels. Quite simply, many of the institutions mandated under Tanzania's Constitution to protect its citizens are being used to abuse their human rights.

No one, least of all Western donors, is holding Tanzania to account for these abuses: they pass quite simply, 'below the radar' and leave the marginalised with no recourse to justice.

Justice in Tanzania is bought and bartered for by the rich and powerful. Tanzania's most prominent legal and human rights organisation, the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), states that magistrates have been reprimanded for delaying cases without trials and for writing judgments without adequate or justifiable reasons.

There is an increasing tendency for court clerks and prison officers to demand some amount of money from inmates who need legal assistance. All of these actions create a negative impression of the judiciary and deny individuals fast and fair access to justice.

This culture of corruption is further fuelled by advocates who manipulate cases to their advantage by backing the winning side. As a result, the innocent are often sent to prison, denied bail and spend years on remand for offences they did not commit.

In 2009 the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) published evidence of the wide-scale abuse of human rights, including torture, in Tanzanian prisons. This was denied by the Ministry of Home Affairs but supported by Tanzania's Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG).

(2013-07-17/allafrica)