Chief Justice

Chief Justice, Mohamed Chande Othman

Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman has asked Tanzanians to ensure the independence of the judiciary is enshrined in the draft constitution now being debated.
According to Othman, doing so will enhance judiciary’s performance, fair trial, and hearing to consolidate human rights.

He was speaking in Dar es Salaam at weekend when launching a book titled Uhuru wa Mahakama (Independence of the Judiciary) written by Retired Chief Justice Barnabas Samatta.

The Chief Justice made it clear that without an independent judiciary, it would be difficult to ensure fair trials and dispensation of justice.

The book dwells on the independence of judiciary, human rights, democracy and rule of law, good governance, the position and the importance of the constitution.
Othman said the mistake made earlier by the government, was to consider the judiciary as one of its departments while the two organs were completely perform separate functions.

He said in line with independence, the judiciary needs to be adequately funded and equipped with human resources and better infrastructure so that it can offer fair trials and deliver justice.

Chief Justice Othman also proposed the use of Kiswahili in all levels of the judiciary saying if the author has managed to write the book in Kiswahili defying all the legal jargons and legal technical words, there was no reason why Kiswahili should not be used in Tanzania’s Judiciary.

“This book is relevant and useful material to be used in different colleges and schools of law in Universities,” he said.

For his part, Samatta said the aim of writing the book was part of his contribution to educate Tanzanians on human rights, democracy and rule of law, good governance, independence of the judiciary, the position and importance of the constitution.
“This book will help people understand the multiparty system better, and educate our leaders on the above mentioned issues.”

Earlier when reviewing the book, a veteran law lecturer, Professor Mgongo Fimbo of School of Law at the University of Dar es Salaam, described Samatta as an exemplary judge who showed high level of integrity, and was a true defender of justice and the marginalised and the poor, especially women.

“In this book the author hates corruption. He says corruption causes anger and hatred to the victims and takes away peace among people. When corruption is used to snatch or kill justice, the victims may decide to take action,” he said.

The launching ceremony was attended by various judges, retired judges, academicians, lawyers, advocates, and leaders of political parties, media and other stakeholders from different public and private institutions