Tanzania: CUF militias camp outside Z’bar office awaiting court ruling

Zanzibar. Militias belonging to opposition party CUF from various parts of Unguja in Zanzibar have camped outside the party’s headquarters at Mtendeni area awaiting for a High Court ruling in Dar es Salaam regarding a leadership dispute within the party.

The High Court in Dar es Salaam was on Monday, February 18, 2019, expected to issue a ruling on the power struggle. This follows a 2017 decision by the party chairman who is recognised by the Registrar of Political Parties Prof Ibrahim Lipumba to dissolve the party’s board of trustees and form a new one.

CUF has experienced a leadership crisis since August, 2016 when Lipumba announced that he had decided to withdraw his 2015 resignation letter and assume the party chairmanship again.

Although Lipumba claimed that he had the right to withdraw his resignation letter, the majority of the party’s leadership, under Secretary General Seif Sharif Hamad, strongly opposed the move.  It was in the middle of such wrangles that Lipumba dissolved the board of trustees which appeared to support Maalim Seif and installed his own.

The Registration Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (Rita) also went ahead to register Prof Lipumba’s new board of trustees, prompting the other faction to go to court which was to rule on the matter on Monday, February 18, 2019.

And while awaiting the ruling on Monday, The Citizen witnessed the CUF’s Zanzibar militias surrounding the party’s head office.

Asked about the presence of the militias around the head office, the party’s elections director, Mr Omar Ali Shehe said the men were there as part of their routine tasks of maintaining security.

“Our party is embroiled in wrangles. Anything can happen at any time. These men are here to safeguard party’s interests,” he said noting that there was no reason for panic since the party was eagerly awaiting the High Court decision which will inform leaders on the next course of action.