PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has revealed reasons behind the formation of an eleven - man commission to investigate performance of criminal justice institutions in the country including negligence to ethical principles governing the offices.
The institutions to be probed include the Police Force, National Prosecution Services (NPS), Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), Tanzania Prisons Service and Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA).
The Head of State said for decades, criminal justice system has been disrupted due to various reasons including taking for granted ethical principles governing the institutions operations.
President Samia who was speaking during the inauguration of the Presidential Commission at the Chamwino State House in Dodoma yesterday further said that, although individual institutions have their own ethical system(s), adherence to them has been a problem.
She said people without basis of power or money have been denied their rights and remain to encounter some challenges which they were not supposed to face.
"Those who commit crimes are being excluded from being punished due to their financial positions and other factors ... that is why I have come up with the idea of reviewing our criminal justice systems for further improvements," Dr Samia said.
She said the appointment of the commission members was done by considering that some of them have worked with the institutions which are going to be investigated thus they are in better position to advise for improvements.
President Samia further explained that, according to an Australian moral philosopher Peter Singer, ethics demands that one give the same weight to the interests of others as one gives to one's own interests.
She said people have been looking at their own interests at the expense of others, adding: "because when you deny someone's right and give it to another person you start by looking at your own interests first.
"There is nothing grave like denying someone's right, if you don't want to be denied your right you must create a system that to a large extent will safeguard people's rights."
Equally, Dr Samia tasked the commission to look at the performance of the institutions, training and employment to find out whether their staff undergo regular training and refresher course, employment systems, promotion and the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Dr Samia stressed that the use of ICT is very crucial in criminal justice system because it helps to control the loopholes of suppressing other people's rights.
She said that in addition to the points of reference given to the commission, it should also work an all issues which they think will be useful for the improvement of the systems and come up with recommendations to enable the government to work on them without delays.
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The President said that the government will be forming such kind of commissions to address various issues facing wanachi and the country in general.
She noted that, in the next two or three weeks, the government will launch another commission to work on foreign affairs system.
On his part, Vice President Dr Philip Mpango commended President Samia for forming such commission for enhancing access to justice.
He said criminal justice system is marred by many challenges including arrest of suspects, people's awareness about their rights , delays in investigating cases and many other complaints from the public that there are numerous complaints
The Commission is chaired by retired Judge Mohamed Othman Chande and former Chief Secretary Ambassador Ombeni Sefue as Vice Chairman.
The team will work for four months starting today and is expected to handover the report to President on May 30 this year.
