My reaction on reading the Tanzanian part of the recent book ‘No Man’s Land: An Investigative Journey through Kenya and Tanzania’ by George Monbiot (Macmillan. £17.99) was to want to know more about the latest situation in the Barabaig country of Northern Tanzania, where a large Canadian-supported wheat scheme (Described in Tanzanian Affairs issue No 24, May 1986 – Editor) has been steeped in controversy for many years.

I did some research. I spoke to Charles Lane of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, to an official of the managers of the project – the National Agricultural and Food Company (NAFCO) in Tanzania and also to officials of CIDA the Canadian International Development Agency) in Hull, Quebec Province.

But first, about the book itself.

George Monbiot’s earlier book ‘Poisoned Arrows’ exposed the plight of the people of Irian Jaya in Indonesia. For this he received a life sentence in absentia. He then wrote ‘Amazon Watershed’ about tribal life in Brazil. Now he has brought to our attention the plight of pastoral tribes in Kenya and Tanzania. To do this he spent some time living among them. He encountered much hardship and many dangers but found friendship and people as human as we are. In fact, once again, a book about East Africa reminds us who we really are: ancestors of the first travelling people like those whose footsteps are preserved in Olduvai Gorge. ‘Humankind was born on the road. Our brains, our physique, our emotional identity, are those of the migrant. The restlessness, which in one corrupted form or another, is felt by every human being on earth, is incurable, for it is fundamental to our nature’. Writing like this, in its widest sense, helps us to live together with more understanding so has something to give to all its readers.

Monbiot visited Hanang District in Tanzania in 1991 and 1992 and met some of the Barabaig people and also Canadian and Tanzanian officials concerned with the 102,000 acre wheat farms. This chapter of the book usefully gives the history of the project including some of the scandalous details of the treatment of the Barabaig. It does not make pleasant reading. CIDA has serious reservations about some of what is written: ‘The chapter, which is written in pseudo-journalistic style, is filled with innuendos and misrepresentations. Mr Henckroth flatly denies many of the quotes attributed to him. ‘The author appears to be following his own particular agenda which does not include accurate reporting’.

However, Tanzania and also Canada have now faced up to the fact that there was a failure on the part of the original planners to give any consideration at all to the 40,000 Barabaig who depended on the land concerned for their survival. It is to be hoped that this story could not be repeated in the world of today. No doubt, at the time, Canada’s proposal seemed like manna from heaven to the Government of Tanzania but our understanding of development has matured since 1970 and human rights matter more, though not enough, particularly in the building up of democracy.

Tanzania eventually set up a lay commission headed by Appeal Court Judge Robert Kisanga to look into the problems of the Barabaig. In its 1993 report the commission made recommendations for the continued existence of the wheat farms and the Barabaig together. Some changes of staff were made on NAFCO’s side and the District Commissioner for Hanang was replaced. The Barabaig were advised to organise themselves to take a full part in discussions at district level and this they have done. NAFCO’s policy now is to help construct water points and to provide proper routes for the cattle of the Barabaig; to allow the people to visit their sacred burial sites; to stop harassing them whenever they are seen trespassing and to settle disputes amicably. The Ministry of Agriculture was recommended to update its guidelines on Hanang District and increase its extension services.

CIDA, for its part, is contributing Canadian $4.5 million towards the implementation of the Kisanga Report. Of this sum, C$700,OOO have already been provided for photomapping the area for the purpose of confirming land use and its registration. Al though CIDA is no longer involved with the wheat farms, since July 1993, they regard them as ‘of strategic importance to the domestic food security of Tanzania’. In 1994 34,430 tonnes of wheat were produced but this was not a good year due to drought. An average 40,000 tonne crop would produce 180 million loaves of bread.

CIDA conducted a mission to Tanzania in January 1995 in order to produce ‘an updated social and economic profile of the Hanang District’. A social and community development project is now being drawn up.

I hope that ‘No Man’s Land’ will be read by many people for the light it throws on the plight of pastoral people today: most of it is highly readable, well-written with humour and understanding, even though some of it, notably the chapter about the Barabaig, is quite distressing.
Christine Lawrence

THE LAW has a vital role to play in the current transformation of government and politics in Tanzania, as Chief Justice Nyalali demonstrated in his impressive survey reported in the last issue of Tanzanian Affairs: as Chairman of the Presidential Commission which recommended ‘multipartyism’ he identified among the first essentials for a true democracy an environment of respect for the Rule of Law and for Human Rights. The Bill of Rights adopted in Tanzania by constitutional amendment in 1984 came into effect in 1987. The Nyalali Commission itself listed no less than 40 oppressive laws which violated the Constitution (many of them laws of Zanzibar); the expectation, yet to be fulfilled in most cases, was that these laws would be repealed, or suitably amended.

BOLD AND THOUGHTFUL JUDGEMENTS
Meanwhile Tanzanian judges have given many bold and thoughtful judgements over the past six years, often overturning laws which infringed human rights (most of them reported in the international series Law reports of the Commonwealth).

In the first case under the Bill of Rights Mr Justice Mwalusanya in 1988 struck down the Deportation Ordinance, a colonial legacy dating from 1921, which authorised the ‘rustification’ of individuals with no requirement for fair trial or hearing; Parliament responded strangely in 1991 by purporting to amend this septuagenarian Act which the court had declared to be void!

Another early case tested the power given to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the Criminal Procedure Act to prevent an accused person being released on bail, if the Director certified that bail would prejudice the safety or interests of the state. In the High Court at Mwanza in 1988 Mr Justice Mwalusanya held that this provision was unconstitutional and void, an improper denial of the basic right to personal liberty; he granted bail to Daudi Pete pending his trial for robbery with violence. The Court of Appeal, led by the Chief Justice, rejected the state’s appeal in a judgement which included several important points:

1) The Swahili version of the Constitution is the controlling one – the judges noted significant discrepancies in the official English translation, which lacks some subtleties of the original;

2) the Tanzanian Bill of Rights (which came into force in 1987) also, unusually, stipulates fundamental duties: ‘a constitutionally recognised coexistence of the individual human being and society’;

3) in applying the Bill of Rights the courts can take account of the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights 1981 signed by Tanzania in 1982.

WOMEN HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS MEN
The Bill of Rights prevails not only over statute law but also over customary laws. Holoria Pastory, an elderly lady, inherited some clan land in Muleba District, Kagera Region, under her father’s will and sold it for Shs 300,000. Her nephew disputed the sale, citing a rule of Haya customary law that a woman cannot sell inherited clan land. The District Magistrate (reversing the Primary Court) held that under the Bill of Rights women had the same rights as men; the appeal came before Judge Mwalusanya, who, in a judgement quoting sources as diverse as Religio Medici and the Beggars Opera, rejected it, upholding the sale.

LAWSUITS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT
The Bill of Rights guarantees access to the courts to settle disputes. A case of wide general importance (Kukutia Ole Pumbun) concerned a rule enacted in 1967 that a lawsuit against the government could not be started without first obtaining the consent of the Attorney General (a rule not unique to Tanzania). In 1993 the Court of Appeal held the rule was invalid because it violated the right of unimpeded access to the courts: although individual rights must be balanced against the collective rights of society, any derogation from basic rights must meet two conditions: the law must not be arbitrary and the limitation imposed on rights must be no more than are reasonably necessary to achieve a legitimate purpose.

VILLAGIZATION AND THE LAW
Land rights are obviously vital to most Tanzanians. In the Akonaay case a father and son by court order in 1987 recovered land in Mbulu District which had been taken from them during ‘Operation vijiji’ in the 1970’s. Then in 1992 an Act of Parliament purported to extinguish all customary law rights acquired before ‘operation Vijiji’ in ‘established villages’. The landowners brought a new case, challenging the validity of this Act. In 1993 Mrs Justice Munuo at Arusha held that the Act was void for violating several basic rights – the right to own property (subject to lawful acquisition and payment of compensation), freedom from discrimination and the right of access to the courts. In deciding the state’s appeal, the Chief Justice in the Court of Appeal examined the history of land law in Tanzania from the start of British rule, recognising that it was crucial, for a better understanding of the present, to understand the past (without living in it). The court noted the persistence of the underlying principle of protecting customary rights in land, held that such rights are property rights which the Constitution protects and identified ‘the Nyerere Doctrine of Land Value’ reflecting the value added to land by clearing and working it (citing Nyerere’s Freedom and unity 1966). However, the court allowed the appeal in part, because the customary rights in question had been effectively extinguished by legislation of 1987, before the Bill of Rights, which is not retrospective, became enforceable. Therefore the 1992 Act, which the court aptly termed ‘draconian legislation’, was not so much invalid as superfluous.

THE DEATH PENALTY
The most dramatic decision on the Bill of Rights was the scholarly, wide-ranging judgement of Mr Justice Mwalusanya, at a murder trial in Dodoma in June 1994, that the death penalty is unconstitutional as a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment; convicting the accused Mbushuu and Sangula of murder, he sentenced them to life imprisonment. However, in January 1995 the Court of Appeal disagreed and quashed his decision, affirming the constitutionality of the death penalty; but it also quashed the convictions for want of vital evidence and therefore set aside the life sentence. The court rightly commended the judge ‘for the unexcelled industry in his exploration of the human rights literature’.

These recent judgements are now being studied by the new Constitutional Court in South Africa, which is considering the very same question the constitutionality of the death penalty – as its first case under the new Bill of Rights there. It is notable that Tanzania, from its relatively short experience of a Bill of Rights, is able to make such a contribution to the application of an even newer system guaranteeing human rights.

THE JUDICIARY, THE EXECUTIVE AND THE LEGISILATURE
In his talk Chief Justice Nyalali noted that the trend in court cases challenging the constitutionality of oppressive laws, if mishandled, ‘is bound to generate some heat’ between the judiciary on the one side and the executive and legislature on the other. The latter has responded with the Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act 1994, which restricts the enforcement of basic rights by requiring a bench of three High Court Judges to sit and requiring them to refer any deficient law to Parliament for amendment, instead of immediately declaring the law to be void. The question has already been raised whether this act itself infringes the basic rights explicitly guaranteed by the constitution.

James S Read

Crocodile Image source unknown

Attacks by crocodiles on human beings have been reported in Korogwe since 1925 but accurate statistics are not available for the period before 1990. The table below compares human fatalities with the corresponding number of crocodiles shot by professional hunters or game scouts between January 1990 and April 1994:

Date – Human Deaths – Crocodile Deaths
1990 . . . . . . 5 . . . . . 10
1991 . . . . . . 9 . . . . . 5
1992 . . . . . . 8 . . . . . 8
1993 . . . . . .11 . . . . . 10
1994 . . . . . .19 . . . . . 16

It seems strange that these voracious human predators are not exterminated, indeed they seem to be flourishing at the expense of the local population.

According to local beliefs not all people are susceptible to crocodile attack. From long ago certain crocodiles have been fed meat and deliberately tamed for service. This ‘service’ has included transporting their ‘owners’ across the river in times of floods. However, more sinister activities are also attributed to the tamed beasts. At one point the Pangani River is punctuated by five small islands. Crocodile Owners are reputed to frequent these islands employing their animals as procurers of women. Hapless ladies brought by the crocodiles would undoubtedly be in no state to resist demands placed upon them. In addition, tamed crocodiles are believed to be used as assassins, disposing of enemies of their ‘owners. Crocodiles in this employ will apparently travel considerable distances from water in pursuit of their victims, even into their houses. These talented animals may be given as an inheritance to relatives or, particularly after any misbehaviour, they may be slaughtered for their skins.

WHY HAVE CROCODILE ATTACKS INCREASED RECENTLY?
Up to the 1950’s the river was clean; fish were plentiful and bathing and collecting water were relatively safe activities. Since then, overfishing, coupled with the dumping of the sisal industry’s waste products into the river, has reduced the crocodiles’ primary food supply. In addition, traditional riverine customs are no longer properly observed. Not only are cooking pots, maize cobs and offal thrown into the river, but menstruating women now visit the river, further provoking the crocodiles. Thus increasing attacks are seen as a consequence of human folly.

If a person is missing and a crocodile attack is suspected, advice is sought from certain authorities, who will then consult the beast in order to determine whether they have been involved. If a body turns up in the river these men, protected by witchcraft and by local medicines applied to their bodies, will fish it out with impunity. Such medicine is available for sale and may be applied, for example, by boys collecting sand from the river’ in order to ward off attack.

WHY ARE CROCODILES NOT HUNTED TO URBAN EXTINCTION?
Firstly, they are viewed as a natural resource and their destruction is controlled. Secondly, over and above the difficulty that government game scouts have in obtaining ammunition and a daily wage are other ingrained beliefs which inhibit both individual and group action. Foremost of these is the real fear of witchcraft used by the ‘tamed’ crocodiles’ owners. Others believe that it is impossible to kill a ‘tamed’ crocodile. Another worry is that a crocodile’s killer will subsequently lose a son to another beast. Finally, if one is successful in hunting, it is essential to bury the crocodile’s bile in front of witnesses to avoid the possibility that others might use it as a poison.

WHAT ADVICE CAN BE GIVEN TO A PERSON ATTACKED?
The best defensive action is to counter-attack the animal’s eyes; indeed, most survivors presenting to the two Korogwe hospitals attribute their escape to this manoeuvre.

HOW CAN CROCODILE BITES BE REDUCED IN KOROGWE?
The importance of a reliable, pumped water supply in reducing risky bathing and water collection is clearly shown in the statistics for 1994. Eighteen deaths – about one a week – coincided with the failure of the town water pump. Failing this, villagers could collect water from the various bridges by using a long rope. Concerted village activity to reduce the vegetation along the river’s edge would help hunters to flush out the enemy. Lastly, the role of education in counteracting the influence of superstition cannot be over emphasised. This would reduce the pervading fear and allow crocodiles to be killed more freely.
Richard Scott and Heather Scott

(This is an abbreviated version of an article which appeared in the British Medical Journal of 24-31 December 1994 – Ed).

TANZANIANS AND THE ARTS OF AFRICA
As part of ‘Africa 95’, a festival of African arts being presented in Britain from August to December this year, the Royal African society is organising an international conference titled ‘Mediums of Change’ at the School of Oriental and African studies from September 29 to October 1. Tanzanians taking part will be:
ABDULRAZAK GURNAH – Novelist, who teaches literature at the University of Kent;
EVERELYN NICODEMUS – Painter and writer; and
PENINA MLAMA – Playwright, Professor of Drama, University of Dar es Salaam.
Details from Richard House – Tel: 0171 637 4388/4389

PROMOTING TOURISM
Tanzania is planning a $1 million-a-year tourism promotion campaign to make tourism its main foreign currency earner (ahead of coffee) Mr Peter Mwenguo, Director of Marketing for the Tanzania Tourist Board announced recently. Last year Tanzania received 300,000 tourists who spent some $240 million. This compares with 230,000 and $147 million the previous year.
Recently published material includes a 36-page colour news quarterly, and the ‘Tantravel’ magazine. A 96-page in-flight magazine featuring the Serengeti National Park was published in cooperation with Lufthansa in January – East African.

MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS
Four alleged Muslim fundamentalists have been sentenced to four years imprisonment each after being found guilty of rioting, stealing and damaging pork butcheries in Dar es Salaam – Daily News.