Toughen flogging law: Magufuli

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli yesterday suggested law amendments that would give greater powers to teachers to flog students.

The Head of State said the government had erred in the current law which restricts the kind of people who have the powers to administer flogging of school children - and how to do so.

“If at all we erred in the past, then it was in coming up with this law. We all went to school - and we were canned by teachers whenever we broke school rules. Even in Europe, stubborn students are punished,’’ he stated.

“We are supposed to amend the law…” he said. He made the remarks as he commended his appointee who is the Mbeya Regional Commissioner, Mr Albert Chalamila, who flogged 14 secondary school students on camera.

Mr Chalamila, who flogged the students at the Kiwanja Secondary School on Wednesday, followed that by suspending 392 students yesterday, as well as dissolving the school board for alleged negligence and failure to take action against students who owned phones at school - and were alleged to have torched two dormitories.

Dr Magufuli called on ‘activists’ who are against the RC’s action to publicly flog students - and also suspend some of them - to help in reconstructing the razed buildings.

“I spoke with the Mbeya Regional Commissioner and I commended him for canning the students because their behaviour is unacceptable,” the President explained.

“Whenever you do something good to the community, you will attract enemies. But, you (the RC) should keep doing that for the good of the community.”

Dr Magufuli maintained that, for the ssuspended students to return to school, their parents must foot the bill for reconstructing the two dormitories. Students allegedly torched the dormitories after their mobile phones were confiscated by the school administration.

In a video clip circulated on social media, the RC directed the 14 students accused of masterminding the torching to pay Sh500,000 each as a fine. He also directed the school administration not to allow transfer of any student from the school.

Earlier yesterday, some human rights groups and lawyers faulted the RC’s decision, saying that the Education Act and the Education Circular Number 24 of 2002 do not give the RC the powers to flog students.

“It is a bad and unacceptable act that deserves strong condemnation because it is not the regional commissioner’s mandate to cane indisciplined students,” said the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) executive director, Anna Henga.

She said the law and the circular grant the whipping mandate to headteachers or teachers who are so authorised by their headteachers. In any case, girl students should only be canned by female teachers.

A former president of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), Mr John Seka, said additional information is required regarding the incident,. He wryly suggested that the RC who publicly canned the students was seeking to impress his appointing authority. “Leaders have the responsibility to serve citizens, and must always avoid incidents that tarnish their image and status as government leaders,” he said.

The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) national coordinator, Onesmo Olengurumwa, said the RC was supposed to issue instructions to the local education officer or the head teacher.

“Appointing authorities should do thorough vetting and provide capacity building seminars to complement their competencies,” he said.

A University of Dar es Salaam lecturer, James Jesse, said prison officers can carry out disciplinary whipping if and when so directed by a properly-constituted court of law.

“This is an anomaly like any other anomalies that take place in society. Laws should be observed by leaders in order to build a stable, industrial country,” Dr Jesse told The Citizen over the phone.