The application had been filed by TLP members Issa Magere, Geofrey Steven and Kinanzaro Mwanga
Arusha. The Arusha Sub-Registry of the High Court of Tanzania has dismissed an application filed by three cadres of the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) who were seeking leave to challenge the party’s General Meeting held earlier this year, during which new leaders were elected.
The court reached the decision after upholding a preliminary objection raised by counsel for the respondents, who argued that the application was defective for failing to meet legal requirements.
The application had been filed by TLP members Issa Magere, Geofrey Steven and Kinanzaro Mwanga. The respondents were the party’s Board of Trustees, the TLP national chairman, Richard Lyimo, the secretary-general, Yustas Rwamugira, and the Registrar of Political Parties.
The ruling was delivered on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, by Judge Dafina Ndumbaro, who was presiding over the matter (Application No. 26901/2025), which had come up for mention.
The applicants were represented by advocate Roland Kimbi, while the respondents were represented by advocate Baraka Sulus.
After the matter was called, advocate Sulus informed the court that the application was defective for failing to comply with legal requirements, particularly the omission to include the Attorney-General (AG) as a necessary party.
He argued that under section 6(3) of the Government Proceedings Act, the AG must be joined in any matter involving a government office—adding that in this case, the AG ought to have represented the Registrar of Political Parties.
He asked the court to strike out the application to allow the applicants to refile it once the legal requirement had been met. The objection was not opposed by counsel for the applicants.
“The matter has come up for mention today, but in the interest of saving the court’s time, it is clear that this application is defective for failing to meet statutory requirements. Whenever a government office is sued, the AG must be joined,” he told the court.
“As we all know, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties is a public office, and therefore the AG’s inclusion was mandatory.”
Judge Ndumbaro upheld the preliminary objection and struck out the application without costs.
In their application, the TLP cadres had sought leave to file for judicial review, arguing on two main grounds: that the party’s General Meeting had not been conducted in accordance with its constitution—rendering its elections invalid; and that the elected leaders, including the national chairman, were chosen without a quorum, with some participants allegedly not being legitimate delegates.
Speaking to journalists outside the court, advocate Kimbi said the next step would be to refile the application after fulfilling the legal requirement to join the Attorney-General.
Lyimo, who was previously the TLP secretary-general, was elected national chairman on February 5, 2025, succeeding Hamad Mkadamu, who had been acting in the position following the death of long-time chairman Augustine Mrema on August 21, 2022.
The General Meeting took place in Dar es Salaam and was attended by the Deputy Registrar of Political Parties, Sisty Nyahoza.
During the meeting, 21 party members were expelled, including leaders accused of attempting to organise parallel meetings to elect leaders to fill the vacancy left by the late chairman Mrema—actions said to be contrary to the party’s constitution.
