Attorney General of Tanzania

Attorney General of Tanzania
Mwanasheria Mkuu wa Serikali  (Swahili)
Incumbent
George Masaju
since 5 January 2015
Attorney General's Chambers
Abbreviation AG
Member of Cabinet, Parliament
Seat Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Appointer President
Term length At the President's discretion
Constituting instrument Article 59(3) of the Constitution
Precursor AG of Tanganyika
Formation 1964
First holder Roland Brown
Deputy Deputy Attorney General
Website www.agctz.go.tz

The Attorney General of Tanzania is the legal adviser to the Government of Tanzania and serves concurrently as an ex officio member of the Cabinet and Parliament.[1]

History

Nyerere and Brown at the 1961 Tanganyika Constitutional Conference

English barrister Roland Brown succeeded J. S. R. Cole to serve as the first Attorney General of independent Tanganyika from 1961 to 1964; and as the first Attorney General of Tanzania following the merger of Tanganyika with the People's Republic of Zanzibar.

Joseph Warioba concurrently served as Minister for Justice between 1983 and 1985; as did his successor Damian Lubuva during his tenure.

List of Attorneys General

# Attorney General Tenure
1 Roland Brown[2] 1964–1965
2 Mark Bomani[3] 1965–1976
3 Joseph Warioba[4] 1976–1985
4 Damian Lubuva[5] 1985–1993
5 Andrew Chenge 1993–2005
6 Johnson Mwanyika 2005–2009
7 Frederick Werema 2009–2014
8 George Masaju Incumbent

Controversies

Andrew Chenge was criticised for his advice to the government which led to the approval of the purchase of an overpriced $40 million radar from BAE Systems. His lawyers admitted that he had given legal advice on some aspects of the deal but did not promote it.[6] In April 2008, Chenge resigned as Infrastructure Minister following the discovery of more than $1 million in an offshore account under his control in Jersey. Chenge described the amount as "small change" (vijisenti in Swahili) and denied receiving it as kickback from BAE Systems.[7] The United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office requested mutual legal assistance from Tanzania and requested that he be interviewed as a suspect in a criminal investigation.[8]

In 2008, Johnson Mwanyika was accused of being one of the architects of the Richmond Scandal;[9] a $172 million emergency power generating contract that was given to a U.S. based company that turned out to be a shell corporation and failed to deliver the 100 MW to the national grid.[10] This led to the resignation of Prime Minister Edward Lowassa and the dissolution of the cabinet. A Parliamentary Select Committee proposed that he be sacked with immediate effect for his failure to advise the government.[11] In July 2009, a government report exonerated him and this was criticised by some Members of Parliament.[12] His retirement in October 2009 coincided with the deliberations of the report.[13]

On 16 December 2014, Frederick Werema resigned after he was accused of authorizing the fraudulent transfer of about $120 million from a controversial escrow account.[14] Werema stated that his advice had been misunderstood.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Profile: AG". AGC. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "JOAN WICKEN". tzaffairs.org. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Bomani, Mark. "Nyerere: a Pan-Africanist" (PDF). juliusnyerere.info. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  4. ↑ Warioba, Joseph (30 April 2014). "Nyerere: with a light touch" (PDF). juliusnyerere.info. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Jaji Lubuva: Nilitishwa Zanzibar kabla hali ya hewa kuchafuko". Raiamwema. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Military radar probe: The key suspects...And the case against them". ThisDay. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  7. ↑ Leigh, David; Evans, Rob (22 April 2008). "Tanzanian minister quits over BAE investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "SFO's Request for Mutual Legal Assistance to Tanzania" (PDF). The Corner House (organisation). 21 March 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Mwanyika, Hoseah's fate in JK's hands". ThisDay. 2 September 2008. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Richmond - briefcase firm that won lucrative tender". africafiles.org. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Report on Richmond Scandal". Tanzanian Affairs. 1 May 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "MPs Criticize Richmond Whitewashing Report". Africa News Service. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  13. ↑ LUHWAGO, RODGERS. "Will Parliament loosen stance over Richmond?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "Tanzania AG Frederick Werema quits amid corruption row". BBC. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Tanzania's attorney general resigns over graft accusations". Reuters. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
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