New AG upbeat on helping raise the bar in legal sector

        Dar es Salaam. The new Attorney General, Dr Adelardus Kilangi, has pledged to address all the challenges facing the Attorney Generals Chamber and the legal sector at large.

Dr Kilangi, who was appointed last Thursday, made the statement shortly after he was sworn-in by President John Magufuli at State House in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Without mentioning the challenges, he said he would use his experience and legal knowledge obtained from various offices that he had worked for before including the Legal Reform Programme and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

“It’s a great honour for me to be appointed, I pledge to work diligently, said Dr Kilangi, who, before his appointment, was the director of St Augustine University of Tanzania (Saut), Arusha Campus, and a senior lecturer in international law, legal theory, and mineral and petroleum law.

Besides him, the others who took oath were his deputy, Mr Paul Joel Ngwembe, and the new judge of the High Court, Mr George Masaju and Mr Gerson Mdemu. Speaking shortly after taking oath, Mr Masaju thanked Dr Magufuli for his continued trust and that he was ready to serve the other pillar of the state, the judiciary.

Mr Masaju, who was the AG before his new appointment, said having served different offices of the government in various capacities, he had improved his competence in fitting in the new job.

“I had the ambition of becoming a magistrate when I jointed university but I was employed as a state attorney, from there I have learnt a lot, having worked as the attorney, personal adviser to the president, AG and at the same time an ex-official Member of Parliament.

“Therefore, I’m so much balanced in whatever decision I will be making in the capacity of Judge,” he explained.

In his earlier remarks, Chief Justice Prof Ibrahim Juma asked the two judges, Mr Masaju and Mdemu, to forget about the past and instead move on with their new roles.

“You have to cope with how the judiciary works and think as the judges not lawyers. Although there will be an induction programme, but you will have to learn from court clerks, attorneys and your fellow judges, whom you will be working with,” he urged.

The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, and the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Tulia Ackson, assured the appointees cooperation so that they will deliver better results in the interest of the nation.

In the event, the four also signed an integrity pledge as supervised by Ethics Commissioner Judge (rtd) Harold Nsekela.