Covering events from January - December 2002

UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
Head of state: Benjamin Mkapa
Head of government: Frederick Sumaye
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: ratified

The commission of inquiry into the killings during demonstrations in Zanzibar in January 2001 acknowledged that major human rights abuses had been committed, including killings, torture and rape by the security forces, but did not recommend any prosecutions of the officers responsible. During 2002, two demonstrations were broken up by police who shot at, beat and arrested demonstrators. At least five people were charged with sedition for expressing their opinions. Prison conditions were harsh and in one incident 17 prisoners died in custody. One hundred death sentences were commuted, but courts continued to pass death sentences.


Background

Political tension in Zanzibar reduced considerably as a result of the October 2001 agreement between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), Party of the Revolution, and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF). By early 2002 all detainees held in connection with the January 2001 demonstrations had been released and restrictions on opposition activities lifted. The targeting of CUF members for arrests and beatings ceased, although in February, five people were arrested in Zanzibar and charged with bombing a government office. They were awaiting trial at the end of 2002. Several thousand people who had fled to the mainland or Kenya returned safely during 2002. Talks between the CCM and the CUF on democratic reforms continued. The semi-autonomous Zanzibar Constitution was amended in April to create an independent electoral commission.

Tanzania continued to host more than 300,000 Burundian refugees; although some returned to Burundi, more arrived. Most of the remaining 22,000 Rwandese refugees returned to Rwanda by the end of 2002, under pressure from the Tanzanian authorities.

In December parliament passed a law to regulate the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Zanzibar government continued to refuse registration to the Zanzibar Association for Human Rights.

The government continued to support corporal punishment in schools, although it reduced the maximum punishment from six to four strokes. Caning remained as an additional penalty for certain criminal offences.

Commission of inquiry into January 2001 killings

The commission of inquiry into the killings during demonstrations organized by the CUF in January 2001 began public hearings in January 2002. The commission held numerous sessions, including in Zanzibar and Pemba, where hundreds of people gave evidence.

In November the commission of inquiry published its findings and recommendations. The report stated that the violations committed by the security forces could have been avoided with better training and equipment for crowd control. It acknowledged that 31 people had been killed by the security forces and 294 injured; that people had been shot and beaten during the demonstrations; that people had been beaten and raped in their homes; and that detainees had been beaten in custody. It made no recommendation for prosecution of any officers responsible for these abuses. The report criticized inflammatory language used by politicians and the media, and recommended that future political disputes be resolved through the involvement of civil society. It called on the CCM and CUF to apologize for the damage caused, and on the government to compensate those who had sustained serious injuries.

Anti-Terrorism Law

In November parliament passed an Anti-Terrorism Law which gave police wider powers of search and detention, although it did not provide a clear definition of "terrorism". The need for the new law was justified by reference to the al-Qa'ida bombing of the US embassy in Dar es Salaam in 1998 when 11 Tanzanians were killed.

Press freedom

An independent Tanzania Union of Journalists was formed in January. In Zanzibar, the first private newspaper since the 1964 revolution was registered in November. Journalists in Tanzania were occasionally questioned by police about articles critical of the authorities but normally quickly released without being charged. However, an editor was charged with sedition in Dar es Salaam in July. He was released on bail and was awaiting trial at the end of 2002.

Freedom of association and expression

Police broke up two demonstrations and charged several people with sedition for the non-violent expression of their opinions.

  • In January riot police broke up a banned demonstration organized by the opposition Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) in Dar es Salaam. Demonstrators were beaten and 18 people, including party officials and a journalist, were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly. They were released on bail after some days and charges were later dropped.
  • In February riot police used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse a banned demonstration by a Muslim group at Mwembechai mosque in Dar es Salaam. Many demonstrators were beaten and 53 people were arrested. Most were released after some weeks, but eight were charged with the killing of a police officer at the demonstration. The eight, who included Sheikh Ponda Issa and Sheikh Mussa Kanducha, were released in August and the murder charges dropped.
  • In April Augustine Mrema, the TLP leader, and two members of the Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT), Rugemeleza Nshala and Tundu Lissa, were charged with sedition after calling for an independent inquiry into alleged deaths at Bulyanhulu gold mine in 1996. The first two were freed on bail. Tundu Lissa, who was abroad, returned to the country later, was briefly arrested in December, and was released on bail. The trial had not started by the end of 2002.
  • In August Reverend Christopher Mtikila, an opposition party leader, was acquitted (on a technicality) of sedition in connection with a letter and an audio tape of 1999 disparaging the late President Julius Nyerere. He was rearrested and charged again but released on bail.
Human rights commission

The Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance was inaugurated in March, headed by an Appeal Court judge, to promote human rights through civic education and to investigate human rights violations. It visited several prisons and investigated reports of deaths of 17 prisoners in Rujewa police station in November. Within days, the commanding police officer and four other officers were dismissed and charged with murder. The previous month the government had acknowledged severe problems in prisons: overcrowding, infectious diseases, lengthy pre-trial detention of prisoners, and the holding of children together with adult prisoners. In December these were some of the grounds cited by the President for granting amnesty to 3,000 prisoners.

Death penalty

In April President Mkapa commuted 100 death sentences to life imprisonment. Many of the prisoners had been held on death row for several years. It was not disclosed how many prisoners remained under sentence of death. There were no executions during 2002.

Several new death sentences were imposed by courts. The Russian government appealed for the commutation of death sentences on two Russian nationals, convicted in Zanzibar of killing a fellow Russian in 2000. The sentences were confirmed on appeal, but subsequently commuted.

Despite continued campaigning against the death penalty by Tanzanian NGOs and religious groups, the Justice Minister said in July that the government had no plans to abolish the death penalty, claiming it had widespread public support.

Visit

In May, AI representatives gave evidence in Zanzibar to the commission of inquiry into the January 2001 killings. They also met Zanzibar government officials for discussions about human rights.

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