Zanzibar ‘necessitates new constitution’

Bernard Lugongo

The recent amendment of Zanzibar’s constitution should be used as a platform to launch a process to rewrite the Union Constitution, political and social stakeholders said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

They said at a workshop that changes to Zanzibar’s constitution necessitated amendment of the Union statutes to make the two documents compatible.

They were speaking during the workshop organised by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and Zanzibar Legal Services Centre (ZLSC) to brainstorm on the two constitutions with regard to Union matters. The workshop drew dozens of participants from governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Dr Sengondo Mvungi, a senior law lecturer at the University of Dar se Salaam, said the amendment of the Zanzibar constitution would have a negative impact on the Union laws, which, he added, must be reviewed to reflect the changes.

He said the amendment of the Isles laws had given a new dimension to the Union, adding that this should be reflected by the Union Constitution.

“If we are not careful with our Constitution, this country will descend into chaos,” Dr Mvungi said.

The amended Zanzibar constitution, among other things, declares that the Isles are a country.

But Dr Mvungi said the changes could not be recognised under the Union Constitution because the Union Parliament had not amended the statutes to identify Zanzibar as a country.

Prof Chris Maina, also senior law lecturer at the UDSM, said it was crucial to update the Constitution to reflect political pluralism in Tanzania and improve the Union.

He said the Union was important, and should be consolidated by a good constitution, adding that there were a number of issues that needed to be addressed.

“We cannot solve our problems by patching up the document…we need to come up with a new constitution,” Prof Maina said.

Mr Ali Uki of Zanzibar University said the Zanzibar’s new constitution did not threaten the Union because it did not state that the Isles were a sovereign state.