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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Policing political campaigns in Tanzania |
Author: | Gondwe, Z.S. |
Year: | 2000 |
Periodical: | Eastern Africa Law Review |
Volume: | 20-27 |
Pages: | 1-19 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Tanzania |
Subjects: | elections legislation lawsuits police |
Abstract: | This article examines the laws underlying the powers of the police in Tanzania to uphold the peace and maintain public safety and it investigates whether such powers reach into political campaigns. The analysis focuses on the Police Force Ordinance, 1952, the Elections Act, 1985, and the Political Parties Act, 1992. According to section 11(5) of the Political Parties Act a political party can hold a meeting or procession after having submitted a notification to the police officer in charge of the area unless the officer gives a stop order in terms of the circumstances set out in section 11(6). In the case of 'Rev. Christopher Mktikila versus Attorney-Gerneral' (1995) the judge argued that a law which seeks to make the exercise of constitutional freedoms subject to the permission of another person cannot be consistent with the express provisions of the Constitution for it makes their exercise illusory. But at another point in his judgement he held that Article 30(2)(a) and (b) of the Constitution empowers the legislature to enact legislation for ensuring that the right and freedoms of others or the public interest are not prejudiced by the misuse of the individual rights and freedoms and for ensuring public safety and order. The article concludes that there is a urgent need for a test case. Notes, ref. |