General News
Is Tanzania Moving Towards Totalitarianism?
By ‘Gbenga Sesan
Last Wednesday January 30, Tanzania moved decisively closer to becoming a one-party state when parliament approved proposed amendments to the Political Parties’ Act that was first passed in 1992. That was the year that the country adopted multi-party democracy, after 31 years of maintaining its one-party status that it nearly started with as an independent nation in 1961 and made official through a 1963 announcement by the then President, Julius Nyerere.
The man whose leadership influenced the Tanganyika African National Union’s landslide win of all but one seats in the 1960 Legislative Council elections, President Julius Nyerere, admitted that the system brought about “slackness and indifference”. Why is Tanzania now undoing, in 2019, a problem it fixed 27 years ago? There was more than one reason why a move to a multi-party system was necessary; not only to keep the competing parties on their toes but also to avoid muting authentic dissent. It was also necessary to modulate the voice of the party which then had great significance.
In a report by the 1991 Presidential Commission set up to ensure a smooth transition to multipartyism, they stated that surveys showed that the multi-party system gave voters a wider choice of politics, parties and candidates than the one-party system. The Nyalali Commission recommended the formation of the office of the Registrar of Parties whose function as suggested was to register political parties. Since the advent of multipartyism in 1992, Tanzania has seen the opening of the political arena which represented every citizen and brought more competition to how the government accounted for its responsibilities. Opposition parties took up their roles as expected in a democracy, bringing diversity and critical scrutiny of government. A vibrant opposition started gaining more ground during the turn of the new century when they exposed the gray areas that the ruling party needed to address.
However, since 2016, there has been an effective, if largely illegal, ban on political parties carrying out public meetings and rallies. Many opposition leaders, including Zitto Kabwe, have been arrested for violating the ban as well as making “anti-government” comments. While this ban has been strongly opposed, social media has been serving as a public space for the discussion of political and urgent matters of concern. At times, issues are taken up directly with political leaders on social media platforms such as Twitter. When online activist Mange Kimambi defied the ban and made a call for protests, several police commissioners and the minister of Home Affairs ensured the protests did not hold.
The government intensified the clampdown on freedom of expression, following the emergence of the 2015 Cybercrime Act that criminalized criticizing government officials online. In May 2018, the Electronics Postal Communications Act came into play with vague regulations and sanctions to further stifle online rights. Not only are provisions of these law enablers of human rights violations, but they have also gone a step further into shrinking civic spaces.
In late 2018, a bill proposing to amend some provisions of the Political Parties’ Act was brought to Parliament. The proposed amendments include giving enormous power and immunity to the political parties’ Registrar, who is an appointee of the ruling parties’ government, to act as a regulator and police all political parties. In these new amendments, the Registrar has the power to deregister, dismiss and request information at any time. While activists and the opposition have put up a fight to speak out against the draconian amendments, the ruling party has maintained an unsurprising silence. The bill also proposes jail time and hefty fines for breach of the law, still giving the Registrar the powers to manage internal affairs of political parties. A coalition of political parties approached the courts to block the government from bringing the political parties bill to the parliament but the coalition was turned down by the High Court, and was also asked to pay the government for inconvenience!
The government of President Magufuli appears to be in a sworn fight against freedom of expression and freedom of assembly – online and offline – and its stifling of opposition voices clearly contravenes the principles of democracy. As with many African governments, including that of my home country, Nigeria, the government of Tanzania is so afraid of criticism that any such voice is targeted through restrictive legislation. It is now unlawful to openly criticize through traditional media, online or even as members of opposing political parties. Is Tanzania heading towards totalitarianism, away from the democratic principles it has been identified with over the years?
The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs has questioned some of the legislative provisions that pose a threat to the country’s political diversity. At a press conference on January 27, 2019, members of the opposition commended the Committee for rejecting provisions such as granting the Registrar, Deputy Registrar and other officers immunity from prosecution. The committee also asked that section 6 of the bill be reworded to correspond with the current Political Parties’ Act and called for the removal of the provision that bars political parties from operating as pressure groups. Unfortunately, when Parliament resumed this week, the bill was passed into law.
This infringes on real democracy. Online and offline activities of political parties, and citizens will be restricted. We have seen the silencing of online voices through the legislation that called for an annual $927 registration fee for bloggers and the victimisation of civil society voices, and while I wonder what the reaction of affected political parties and civil society in Tanzania would be, it is important for us to shed light on the clampdowns on digital – and other forms of – rights in Tanzania.
From Nigeria to Tanzania, and Angola to Zimbabwe, Africa must stop this trend of clampdowns that have created a climate of fear online. The continent needs the Internet as a platform for innovation and economic opportunities, along with its natural role as a civic space, instead of a space where young people – who are the continent’s resource hope – look over their shoulders.
‘Gbenga Sesan is the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, the pan-African digital rights and inclusion group.
The dual of little Damilare Adeniran and Gold Obi Besong, students of Pastor Adegboyega Nursery and Primary School, Ketu emerged overall winners in this year’s KidsCook Showdown 2.0 held over the weekend.
KidsCook Showdown is an initiative of Dominion Consultancy Concepts, aimed at introducing children between the ages of 6 and 8 to household chores early.
At the grand finale of the contest that featured four schools with two cooking contests of pasta and swallow, Pastor Adegboyega Nursery and Primary School, Ketu secured the highest points by the three judges, Aina Memorial Nursery and Primary School was the runners up; while Oke-Ifako Nursery and Primary School, Gbagada took third place.
Mrs. Enitan Tanimowo, Director, Dominion Consultancy Concepts, organiser of the event, said the goal of KidsCook Showdown is to inspire children to see cooking not just as a chore, but as a fun, creative way to develop themselves, learn discipline, and build confidence and these skills help them into the future.
“It is a thing of joy for us. When we started, it was a case of what can these children do? After all they are too small. But, we found out that the children can do things, they are not babies. What we are doing today is to prove that our children can do much more if we entrust them with that responsibility.
“There are a lot happening in our environment especially as many adults lack responsibilities today which can be trace back to upbringing. This event reminds parents of the need to train their children the way they should go, so, when they grow up they will be balance by understanding what responsibility means.
Tanimowo added that the initiative directly aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—specifically SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education)—by using hands-on, practical learning to promote balanced nutrition and social development. The event is bringing together parents, teachers, and professionals to champion the next generation.
Looking forward to 2027
She said the goal is to impact more children. This year, we worked with 6 schools in partnership with LASUBEB. And we want to impact more schools across different local governments in Lagos State.
“There’s need to equip our children to be hand-on, be diligent and responsible, it helps them. One research I read reveals that when children are taught how to be responsible at home, it helps them academically. This is one fact that many parents don’t know.
“One thing we have observed since the beginning of this initiative is that a lot of children within the ages of 6 and 8 are not taught how to be responsible at home.
These children should be capable at this age because their brain is already developing cognitive skills, the message is that parents need to do more in training our children better to be more responsible, be hands-on, it does help them. It helps the country as a whole because if we have more people that are responsible, they will be able to solve problems, take initiatives and as well build their businesses.
“We are excited by the level of participation in this edition and plans to reach out to more local governments in Lagos state. Our goal is to impact more children to be hands-on and responsible and in turn develop entrepreneurship skills in the children.
Paystack, one of Africa’s leading payments technology companies, has launched a programme to support Nigerian small businesses through a range of initiatives designed to help them grow, connect with relevant opportunities and access funding.
The scheme known as Paystack Small Business Programme will support businesses as they start, manage and grow their operations, starting with Paystack Small Business Bundle. The bundle gives eligible Nigerian merchants access to up to N4 million in discounts on tools and services from selected partners across key areas of business operations, including commerce, bookkeeping, logistics, design, workspace, customer communication and digital tools.
Small businesses play a significant role in Nigeria’s economy, but many still face daily operational challenges, from managing sales and records, reaching customers, handling deliveries, and accessing affordable tools.
The programme has been developed to provide practical support for these businesses as they manage daily operations and plan for their next stage of growth.
According to the firm, the Paystack Small Business Programme will start with different initiatives.
The firm explained that through the small business bundle, eligible merchants can access offers from partners including Bumpa, Ijeworks, Wiicreate, Flowcart, Simplebks, Africaworks, Paystack, Kindlybook, FezDelivery, Gamp, Pressone, Mercurie, Shuttlers and Canva.
Paystack is targeting 2,000 Nigerian SMBs for the small-business bundle, with additional partner offers expected over time.
Federal Government is considering the reintroduction of a stricter cashless policy as part of efforts to combat kidnapping and other criminal activities across the country.
Security sources said the proposal is being reviewed alongside ongoing military and intelligence operations aimed at dismantling kidnapping networks and disrupting their sources of funding.
The sources disclosed that limiting the use of cash could make it more difficult for kidnappers and other criminal groups to receive ransom payments without detection.
According to the officials, many criminal organisations prefer cash transactions because they leave little or no financial trail, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to trace payments and identify those involved.
They explained that ransom payments processed through formal financial channels are easier to monitor and investigate, thereby providing valuable intelligence for security agencies.
The sources noted that strengthening the cashless policy could improve the ability of authorities to track suspicious financial transactions and uncover criminal networks operating across the country.
Speaking on the development, security analyst Mr Iyke Odife described kidnapping for ransom as one of Nigeria’s most pressing security challenges.
Odife said victims of kidnapping now cut across various segments of society, including farmers, students, travellers, traditional rulers and residents of rural communities.
According to him, the widespread use of cash in the economy has continued to provide opportunities for criminal groups to receive and move ransom payments without attracting attention from security agencies.
He argued that reducing cash-based transactions could significantly limit the operational freedom of kidnappers and other organised criminal groups.
“The heavy reliance on cash makes it easier for criminal elements to collect and transfer ransom money without leaving a trace.
“A more robust cashless system could help security agencies track illicit financial flows and strengthen efforts to combat kidnapping,” he said.
The move comes amid growing concerns over insecurity in several parts of the country, where kidnapping for ransom has remained a major threat despite ongoing security operations.
Analysts, however, stress that any strengthened cashless policy should be accompanied by improved digital infrastructure, financial inclusion measures and enhanced cybersecurity to ensure its effectiveness.
The Federal Government is yet to make an official announcement on the scope and timeline of the proposed policy.
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