By Bernard Lugongo
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman has admitted that the current Tanzania constitution does not identify means by which citizens could demand their social and economic rights.Justice Othman also pointed to the need for introduction of a policy, and then a law, that would state the issue of providing legal aid to the poor who are unable to pay advocates and give legal aid to various institutions.

The policy should first identify and clearly state who is responsible for offering legal assistance, he pointed out, querying:
“Is it the Government or legal institutions, or whether the Government should fund those institutions providing such services?”

He was speaking in Dar es Salaam when he officially launched a centre for legal aid belonging to the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC).  The function went together with celebrations for the 16th anniversary of the LHRC.

The centre was named as ‘Justice Mwalusanya House’- in honour of the late Justice James Mwalusanya. The Tanzania constitution recognises education as a basic right for all citizens, but they cannot demand it in court, he said. He noted that the presence of courts was not enough to ensure implementation of human rights protection. Therefore, he added, centres for providing legal aid were very much needed.

Earlier, the LHRC executive director, Mr Francis Kiwanga, said the aim of constructing the new centre was to provide legal aid services in a conducive environment.He said the idea was mooted following the increasing need of the services as the centre serves about 10,000 people each year.

The new legal aid centre was constructed with support from the Swedish embassy, the Foundation for Civil Societies, Norwegian Embassy and Ford Foundation. The late Justice Mwalusanya’s wife, Ms Bumi Mwalusanya, thanked the LHRC for keeping memories of her husband by naming the centre after him.

She said the move would inspire future generations to understand the life history of Justice Mwalusanya who died in August last year, and therefore keep his legacy.

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