Tanzania imeondoa Art 34(6) kwenye sheria zake inayoruhusu mwananchi mmoja mmoja na NGO's kuishitaki kwenye mahakama ya Afrika.
Je huu ni uoga au imeona inafanya makosa mengi.
Mahakama ya Afrika ya Haki za Binadamu na Watu ilianza rasmi shughuli zake huko Addis Ababa, Ethiopia mnamo Novemba 2006, lakini Agosti 2007 ilihamia Arusha, Tanzania
Ilianzishwa na Itifaki ya Hati ya Kiafrika ya Haki za Binadamu na Watu iliyoanza kutumika mnamo Januari 25, 2004 baada ya kupitishwa na nchi zaidi ya 15 Wanachama wa Umoja wa Afrika
Inalenga kuhakikisha Usalama wa #HakiZaBinadamu na watu barani Afrika, ikikamilisha na kuimarisha kazi za Tume ya Afrika ya Haki za Binadamu na Watu
Mahakama hiyo ina Mamlaka juu ya kesi zote na mizozo iliyowasilishwa juu ya tafsiri na Matumizi ya Hati ya Kiafrika ya Haki za Binadamu na Watu, Itifaki na chombo kingine chochote HakiZaBinadamu kilichoridhiwa na nchi inayohusika
Nchi 30 za Afrika zimesaini zikikubaliana na Itifaki ya Hati ya Kiafrika ya Haki za Binadamu na Watu ambazo ni Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Comoros, Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Lesotho, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda
Nchi 9 kati ya 30 ndio zimesaini kutambua uwezo wa Mahakama hiyo kupokea kesi kutoka kwa Watu Binafsi na Mashiriki yasiyo ya Kiserikali kama ilivyoanishwa Kifungu cha 34(6), nchi hizo ni Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Tanzania na Tunisia. Rwanda ilijitoa katika Makubaliano ya Ibara hiyo
Kifungu cha 34(6): Wakati wa kudhibitisha Itifaki hii au wakati wowote baadaye, Serikali itatoa tamko kukubali uwezo wa Mahakama kupokea kesi chini ya kifungu cha 5 (3) cha Itifaki hii. Mahakama haitapokea ombi lolote chini ya kifungu cha 5(3) kutoka kwenye nchi yoyote ambayo haijatoa tamko kama hilo
Kifungu cha 5(3): Korti inaweza kuorodhesha asasi zisizo za kiserikali (NGOs) zenye hadhi ya uchunguzi mbele ya Tume, na watu binafsi kuanzisha kesi moja kwa moja mbele yake, kwa mujibu wa kifungu cha 34(6) cha Itifaki hii.
UPDATES: WAZIRI WA SHERIA AKANUSHA KUJITOA KWENYE MAHAKAMA YA AFRIKA
Waziri wa Katiba na Sheria, Balozi Augustine Mahiga amesema Serikali haijajitoa Mahakama ya Afrika ya Haki za Binadamu na Watu (AFCHPR) bali imeiomba kubadilisha itifaki.
Alisema uamuzi wa kujitoa utakuja baada ya ombi la kubadilisha itifaki hiyo yenye utata katika shughuli za kimahakama kushindikana.
Alisema Serikali imeiandikia barua mahakama hiyo yenye makao makuu yake jijini Arusha kuondoa itifaki hiyo ambayo inapingana na sheria ya Tanzania na kusisitiza kuwa kwa sasa haijajitoa bali inasubiri marekebisho hayo.
“Tunachosubiri kwa sasa ni marekebisho hayo ila ikishindikana basi tutajitoa. Kwa sasa bado hatujajitoa kama inavyosemekana,” alisema.
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UPDATES: NYARAKA ZA KUONESHA TANZANIA INATAKA KUJITOA KWENYE KIFUNGU CHA 34(6) CHA ITIFAKI YA MAHAKAMA YA AFRIKA
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UPDATES: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL YATOA TAMKO KULAANI MPANGO WA KUJITOA
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
02 December 2019
Tanzania: Withdrawal of individual rights to African Court will deepen repression
The Tanzanian government has withdrawn the right of individuals and NGOs to directly file cases against it at the Arusha-based African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Amnesty International has established.
This withdrawal of rights will rob people and organisations in Tanzania a vital avenue to justice, in a country whose justice system is deeply flawed.
“This move effectively blocks individuals and NGOs in the country from directly going to the court to seek redress for human rights violations in what is clearly a cynical attempt to evade accountability,” Japhet Biegon, Amnesty International’s Africa Advocacy Coordinator said.
“This is yet more evidence of the government of Tanzania’s growing hostility towards human rights and human rights defenders. It undermines the authority and legitimacy of the African Court and is an outright betrayal of efforts in Africa to establish strong and credible regional human rights bodies that can deliver justice and accountability.”
Tanzania becomes the second country after Rwanda to withdraw the right of individuals and NGOs to directly access the African Court, a vital continental judicial body in the face of state interference in national justice systems.
The government of Tanzania has the highest number of cases filed by individuals and NGOs as well as judgments issued against it by the African Court. Out of the 70 decisions issued by the court by September 2019, 28 decisions, or 40 percent, were on Tanzania.
Similarly, most of the cases still pending before the African Court are against Tanzania, a huge number of them on alleged violations of the right to fair trial, pointing to a systemic problem in the Tanzanian justice system.
Most recently, on 28 November, the African Court ruled that a section of the Tanzanian penal code which provides for mandatory death sentence in capital offences not only violates the right to fair trial and undermines judicial independence, but also the right to life.
“The many cases filed against Tanzania at the African Court speak to the abject failure by the country to provide victims of human rights violations adequate and effective remedies nationally, said Japhet Biegon.
“As the host of the African Court, Tanzania should lead by example and reconsider the decision to withdraw its declaration, demonstrating its support and commitment to the success of the court. It must also strengthen its own justice system to ensure victims of human rights violations can access justice at the national level.”
Background
The Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, signed the notice of withdrawal of the declaration made under Article 34(6) of the African Court Protocol on 14 November 2019. This notification was sent to the African Union on 21 November.
Tanzania’s decision to withdraw its Article 34(6) declaration comes barely a month after Amnesty International
released a report detailing a spike in repression in the country under President John Magufuli.
UPDATES: UMOJA WA MATAIFA KITENGO CHA HAKI ZA BINADAMU YAONESHA KUSIKITISHWA