Here Is A List of 12 Eminent Persons Closely Following The Tanzanian General Elections

Tanzanians will be going to the polls this month. They are set to elect the next government that will lead them for the next five years. The current President John Pombe Magufuli will be seeking a second term in office. His main challenger is the candidate by the CHADEMA party, Tundu Lissu.

Every election needs to be fair, credible, and open with the voice of the people exercising their democratic right through voting carrying the day. As Tanzanians go to the polls, the Tanzania Elections Watch has formed a panel of 12 eminent persons who are closely following the events in Tanzania towards a credible democratic process.

Here are the eminent persons:

Prof. Frederick Ssempebwa

This is the Chair of the panel. Professor Ssempebwa was a member of the Uganda Constitutional Commission (The Odoki Commission) which drafted the Uganda 1995 Constitution.

He was the Chairman of the Uganda Constitutional Review Commission which was charged with reviewing the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and a member of the Committee of Experts which drafted the 2010 Constitution for the Republic of Kenya’.

In 2015, he led a team of experts from Uganda and Kenya that reviewed and made proposals on the draft Constitution of Tanzania and presented their findings to the Warioba Committee, under the auspices of Kituo cha Katiba.

He has served as a member of the Judicial Service Commission of Uganda entrusted with the selection of Judges for the Courts of Uganda and on the Law Council of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Ms. Alice Mogwe

This the Co-Chair of the panel. Ms. Alice Mogwe is the current President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) since her election in October 2019.

She is a staunch human rights advocate and civil society leader will lead the Federation for the next three years, ushering in its 100th anniversary in 2022.

She is also the founder and director of DITSHWANELO – the Botswana Centre for Human Rights. She has spearheaded efforts to advance human rights in Botswana and its Southern African neighbors. It advocates for changes in laws, policies, and practices, and to raise public awareness of rights and responsibilities.

In December 2018, Ms. Mogwe was the first civil society leader to address the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of over 250 human rights defenders from around the world.

Hon. Justice Willy Mutunga

Dr. Willy Munyoki Mutunga is a Kenyan lawyer, intellectual, reform activist, and the Commonwealth Special Envoy to the Maldives.

His appointment to the Commonwealth was to bring the political leadership together, and to aid in the process of constitutional and political transition, with an overriding mandate of supporting a sustainable political dialogue process leading to a stronger climate of pluralism and inclusive elections, and to encourage the strengthening of democratic institutions and culture in the Maldives.

He is also an active member of the Justice Leadership Group. He is the retired Chief Justice of Kenya and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. During his reign as the Chief Justice, he spearheaded judicial reforms that came about after the promulgation of the new constitution.

Dr. Mutunga led in the quest for a new constitution during the Moi era. Dr. Mutunga was in exile in Canada after his release on 20 October 1983, while in exile, He partnered with Hon. Kiraitu Murungi, Mr. Maina Kiai, and Prof. Makau Mutua and to launch the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) to further the struggle for socio-economic justice and democratic constitutional order.

Hon. Dan Wandera Ogalo

Hon. Ogalo is a seasoned advocate and legislator. He is Senior Counsel and Partner, Victoria Advocates & Legal Consultants, Kampala. As a lawyer, he has handled numerous constitutional and electoral related court cases.

He is a former member of the Parliament of Uganda where he was a Commissioner of Parliament; Chairperson of the legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and Deputy Chairperson of the Rules and Disciplinary Committee.

He also chaired the Parliamentary Select Committee that probed the Uganda Railway Corporation (URC) and was later Vice-Chairperson of the parliamentary committee that probed the alleged junk helicopters purchased by the Ministry of Defense.

Hon. Ogalo is a former member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). He was a delegate to the Constituent Assembly that debated the draft Constitution of Uganda in 1993. He studied law at Makerere University, and has a Diploma in Law from the Law Development Centre and a Master of Law from Makerere University.

Hon. Lady Justice Lydia Mugambe

Hon. Lady Justice Lydia Mugambe is a Judge of the High Court in Uganda. Before joining the judiciary, she worked at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania in the Chambers and Appeals and Legal Advisory Division.

She also worked as a legal researcher at the International Bar Association in London. She is the winner of the 2017 Women’s Link International People’s Choice Gavel Award for her work on issues of gender-based justice; and the prestigious Vera Chirwa human rights award of the University of Pretoria, South Africa for her contribution towards advancing the socio-economic rights of the vulnerable and ensuring gender-based justice in Africa through her courageous and impactful judicial career.

Justice Mugambe was part of the distinguished experts that drafted the 2019 Abidjan Principles that streamline the involvement of private actors in the education sector. She has also contributed to the United Nations’ strategy on improving the implementation of socio-economic rights in Uganda and presented several papers on civil and political rights enforcement.

Prof. Frederick Jjuuko

Prof. Jjuuko is an Advocate and Professor of Law and Jurisprudence. He holds a Master of Laws from the University of Dar es Salaam/Makerere University 1977-1978; a Diploma in Advanced International Conflict from the University of Uppsala, Sweden, 1993; a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre, Kampala, Uganda 1981-1982; a Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University 1973- 1976; and a Certificate in Extractives from the Colombia University, New York, 2017.

He is one of the top-ranking professors in the country, having begun his 43-year teaching career at the School of Law, at Makerere University in 1976 until 2019.

He is currently Dean Faculty of Law, Uganda Martyrs University. At Makerere University, he was Head, Law and Jurisprudence, School of Law from 1995-2017; Dean from 1988-1995; and Head Commercial Law and Jurisprudence from 1983-1988. He has held different administrative positions including Chairman of the Makerere Academic Staff Association (1988-1993); the Examination Irregularities Committee, Makerere University (1990-1994); the Academic Programs Review Committee, Makerere University (2009-2010); and the Contracts Committee Makerere University (2004-2010).

He was also a member of the Makerere University Council (1988-1995 and 2002); the Administration & Development Committee, Makerere University (1990-1993); the Makerere University Staff Tribunal (2007-2011) and of various permanent and Ad hoc Committees in Makerere University over the years.

Hon. Dr. Miria R. K. Matembe

Hon. Dr. Miria Matembe is a strong proponent for and an advocate of women’s rights in Uganda. She holds an Honours Degree in Law from Makerere University Kampala; a Masters of Law from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

For over two decades beginning in 1989, she was a member of Uganda’s Parliament where she was representing the Mbarara District. She was the first Minister for Ethics and Integrity in the Government of Uganda from 1998 to 2003, after which she became a member of the Pan-African Parliament representing Uganda.

While serving in the Pan African Parliament, she was the Chairperson of the Committee on Rules, Privileges, and Discipline (a permanent committee of the Parliament). Hon. Dr. Miria Matembe was a member of the Uganda Constitutional Commission (The Odoki Commission, 1989 to 1992) that drafted Uganda’s 1995 Constitution and a delegate of the Constituent Assembly that debated Uganda’s 1995 Constitution from 1994 to 1995.

She was one of the experts from Uganda and Kenya that reviewed and made proposals on the Proposed Constitution of Tanzania and presented their findings to the Warioba Committee in 2015, under the auspices of Kituo cha Katiba.

Ms. Betty Kaari Murungi

Ms. Kaari Betty Murungi is a peace and justice advocate. She was educated at the University of Nairobi and the Kenya School of Law.

She is a past visiting fellow at the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School. Ms. Murungi has broad experience in transitional justice processes, women’s human rights, gender, constitutionalism, and governance with a particular focus on international human rights in the context of violent conflict with experience in international criminal justice and accountability mechanisms.

She has worked in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Northern Uganda, South Sudan, and her native country Kenya. Ms. Murungi served as Vice Chairperson and Commissioner to the Kenya Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (2009-2010); as the Africa representative on the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims at the International Criminal Court (2009-2013); as Senior Transitional Justice Advisor to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), South Sudan (2016-2018); as a member of the Independent Commission of Inquiry for the Occupied Palestinian Territory appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council (July 2018- March 2019).

Mr. Abubakar Zein Abubakar

Abubakar Zein Abubakar is one of the Founding Directors of the Orature Collective, which combines artistry, activism, and analysis in its facilitation of intellectual work with civic, community, and academic institutions.

A committed Pan-Africanist, he has served as a member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) where he chaired the parliamentary committee, The Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution Committee, responsible for Peace and Security in the Eastern Africa region, parliamentary diplomacy, and relations of partner States.

The Committee also had oversight responsibility for the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) framework in the East African Community.

Ms.Alice Wairimu Nderitu

Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu is a Kenyan armed conflict analyst and mediator, educator, and author. Ms. Nderitu has won several awards recognizing her commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflicts throughout Africa and an innovative approach to mediation.

She is a member of the African Union’s Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (Fem-Wise), a member of the Women Waging Peace Network, a member of the Community Voices for Peace and Pluralism and is also a columnist with the East African Newspaper.

Mr.David Makali

David Makali has over 27 years’ experience in print and broadcast media as well as civil society as an advocate of press freedom. He was until November 2018 the editorial head of the Radio Africa Group in charge of its online, broadcast and print platforms, including the Star newspaper.

Positions held in the past include Managing Editor of the Nairobi Law Monthly, the Sunday Standard as well as director of the Media Institute and editor of the Expression Today media review, which he published for ten years.

Prof. Chaloka Beyani

Professor Chaloka Beyani is an Associate Professor of International Law in the Law Department at the London School of Economics (LSE) since 1996 and a member of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights and former Chair of its Advisory Board.

Prof. Chaloka is also a member of the Centre for Climate Change at LSE. He studied law at the University of Oxford (D.Phil) and the University of Zambia (UNZA) (LLB, LLM). He has taught international law, human rights, public law, and criminal law at Oxford and UNZA.

He is a Visiting Professor of International Law at the University of Toronto and Santa Clara University. Prof. Chaloka is a recognized international and United Nations expert on internally displaced persons, population transfers, mercenaries and private military companies, sexual and reproductive health, the human rights-based approach to development, climate change, making treaties, and making constitution.