Category: Auto Guid

Health stakeholders have identified five major threats to the health and wellbeing of young people and adolescents in Tanzania, including HIV, teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, gender-based violence and mental health challenges.

They have called for reproductive health information and services to reach young people on time and in forms that respond to their needs.

The concerns were raised during a two-day Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (AYSRH) meeting held in Dar es Salaam from September 29 to 30, 2026.

The meeting, organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Doris Mollel Foundation, brought together stakeholders to identify health challenges facing young people and develop a joint 2026/27 plan to improve reproductive health services for the group.

According to the Ministry of Health, young people account for an estimated 31 per cent of Tanzania’s population, yet many continue to face health and economic challenges, including those related to reproductive health.

Ministry of Health Adolescent Reproductive Health Coordinator Gerald Kihwele said an assessment of young people’s health had identified barriers preventing some from accessing reproductive health services, including HIV and sexually transmitted infection services and contraception.

‘It is possible that we have provided enough education, but the environment at our health facilities has not been youth-friendly. That is why we have involved young people themselves, so that we can hear their voices and understand what needs to be improved, whether it is the facilities, services or the time at which services are provided,’ he said.

Mr Kihwele said involving young people was important because Tanzania has a large youth population, making investment in their health, education and skills essential to the country’s development.

‘What we want is to have young people who are healthy and have the right education and skills because a country that wants to develop must invest in its young people. We cannot say we are investing in them without first ensuring that they are healthy and have access to services that meet their needs,’ he said.

Doris Mollel Foundation Reproductive Health Officer Brian Kilenzi said the organisation was implementing two interventions, including helping girls who are out of school return to the education system and linking survivors of gender-based violence with safe shelters.

He said girls affected by violence are provided with a safe place to stay as their cases are followed up, including legal procedures, before they are reunited with their families.

Mr Kilenzi said implementation of the interventions had shown that a significant gap remained in communities, with the number of young people requiring support exceeding the organisation’s planned reach.

He said the foundation aims to reach 1,985 girls across 47 councils but had already identified more than 2,800 girls who are out of school and need support to return to the education system.

Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC) representative Subira Lyimo said cooperation between the Government and stakeholders was necessary to address existing gaps because different organisations work with different groups of young people.

She said combining their experience and interventions could improve efforts to address challenges facing young people.

‘Every stakeholder has their own interventions. If we come together and link those interventions with the challenges we are seeing, we can solve the problems more effectively than working separately,’ she said.

Ms Lyimo also called for greater efforts to economically empower young people, saying a lack of means to support themselves could expose them to risky circumstances.

What you need to know

Ministry of Health statistics show that young people make up an estimated 31 per cent of Tanzania’s population, but the group continues to face health and economic challenges, including reproductive health concerns.

The figures show that about 22 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 have begun childbearing, while HIV prevalence is estimated at 4.6 per cent.

Gender-based violence also remains a concern, with an estimated 27 per cent of women of reproductive age having experienced physical or sexual violence.

The challenges can have serious consequences for young people, including disruption of education, unintended pregnancies, HIV and sexually transmitted infections, psychological distress and the risk of poverty being passed from one generation to the next.

Tanzania is increasingly looking beyond the country’s borders for employment opportunities as it seeks to ease pressure on the domestic labour market.

The new strategy, the government says, has already connected more than 15,000 Tanzanians with jobs abroad over the past two years.

Speaking on September 28,2026, Minister responsible for Labour, Employment and Relations, Mr Deus Sangu, said 8,804 Tanzanians had been connected with employment opportunities abroad between January and September this year alone.

The figures come at a time when Tanzania is facing a growing mismatch between the number of young people entering the labour market and the number of jobs available.

According to the Labour Force Survey 2021 and the 2007 National Youth Development Policy, revised in 2024, about one million young people enter the labour market annually, while universities produce about 800,000 graduates each year.

Only about 200,000 young people, however, are able to secure employment annually, leaving a large number competing for limited opportunities.

For the government, expanding access to international labour markets is therefore becoming part of the response to the employment challenge.

‘From January to September this year, 8,804 Tanzanians have been connected with employment opportunities, while over the past two years 15,717 Tanzanians have secured jobs abroad,’ Mr Sangu said.

Mr Sangu was addressing journalists on the next major step in the strategy- the Second Doha Dialogue on Labour Mobility and Employment, which Tanzania will host on October 5 and 6.

The meeting will bring together African countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries-Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain-alongside Jordan and Lebanon.

The first Doha Dialogue was held in Qatar in May 2024, involving 33 countries, including 25 African nations. Tanzania participated in the meeting, where the Doha Declaration was adopted as a basis for continued cooperation on labour mobility.

For years, employment opportunities for Tanzanians in the Gulf have largely been associated with domestic work, a sector that has also attracted concerns over exploitation of migrant workers.

Mr Sangu said the government was now negotiating opportunities in professional fields, including teaching, medicine and engineering.

‘Previously, we were used to Tanzanians going to Arab countries mainly for domestic work. Now we have entered agreements that are creating opportunities for university teachers, doctors and engineers,’ he said.

The government, he said, expects to also announce opportunities for more than 600 engineers and technicians, while further negotiations with a major Gulf company are expected to create another 4,500 jobs.

The shift towards skilled employment could become important as Tanzania seeks to get greater economic value from its growing pool of educated young people.

Development analyst, Mr Samson Sombi, said: ‘International employment could reduce pressure on the domestic labour market while increasing household incomes through money sent home by workers.’

However, he cautioned that the long-term benefits would depend on the quality of jobs secured.

‘The long-term benefits will depend on the type of jobs available, wage levels, protection of workers’ rights and how the money earned is used in the domestic economy,’ he said.

He said the growing demand for doctors, engineers and university lecturers also pointed to a shift from low-skilled employment towards the export of skilled labour.

‘This can increase the value of Tanzania’s human capital in the global labour market,’ Mr Sombi said.

The government is simultaneously tightening controls to protect workers from exploitation.

Mr Sangu said no private recruitment agency was allowed to transport Tanzanians abroad for employment outside the government’s official systems.

‘No private recruitment agency is allowed to transport workers abroad without going through the government’s systems,’ he said.

Workers are required to have formal employment contracts, which are reviewed through the Prime Minister’s Office.

The government says the contracts are intended to protect workers’ rights, ensure that wages correspond with their duties and establish clear responsibilities for employers.

It also requires employers to coordinate with Tanzanian embassies before workers begin employment.

Mr Sangu said the measures had helped address concerns over passport confiscation, exploitation and other forms of abuse, adding that no such case had been reported to the ministry between January and September this year.

Mr Sangu said the Dar es Salaam meeting would focus on strengthening bilateral labour agreements, matching workers’ skills with labour-market demand and developing migration systems capable of responding to technological change and new forms of work.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan has appointed 22 new district commissioners (DCs) and 17 district executive directors (DEDs), while transferring dozens of other officials as part of a wider administrative reshuffle.

The changes, announced on Tuesday, also affect district administrative secretaries and are aimed at filling vacancies created by retirements and other changes.

The statement was issued by Chief Secretary Dr Moses Kusiluka and signed by Presidential Communications Director Bakari Machumu.

Among the newly appointed DCs are Nicodemus Tambo Mwikozi for Arusha District, Maiko Richard Kachoma for Chato, Edwin Mathew for Tanga, Zaytun Swai for Korogwe, Atupele Mwakibete for Kilolo and Mtella Allam Mwampamba for Uvinza.

Others are Musa Ramadhani Sima for Newala, George Ngate for Chunya, Mbwana Rajabu Kambangwa for Mbulu, SACP Enock Nyakulinga for Kibondo, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Augustino Kakomangile for Ngorongoro, Lieutenant Colonel Fortunatus Kipeta for Kibiti and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Athanas Murimi for Kasulu.

Festo Kiswaga has been appointed DC for Buhigwe, Neema Lugangira for Arumeru, Vita Rashid Kawawa for Hanang, Richard Atufigwege Kasesera for Mvomero, Dr Francis Daudi Mlacha for Kahama, Mwita Petro Marwa for Masasi, Stanslaus Shing’oma Mabula for Rorya, Christopher Andendekisye Kitwika for Uyui and Mwanaidi Adadi Rajabu for Pangani.

Among those transferred are Grace Henry Kingalame, from Nyang’wale to Meatu; Fauzia Hamidu Ngatumbura, from Meatu to Kilindi; Hashim Shaibu Mgandilwa, from Kilindi to Babati; and Almishi Issa Hazali, from Hanang to Kongwa.

Other transfers include Michael John, from Mbulu to Sikonge; Mwinyi Ahmed Mwinyi, from Arumeru to Mkuranga; Peter Ambrose Lijualikali, from Nkasi to Kalambo; Nickson Simon John, from Kibaha to Songwe; and Fadhil Emmanuel Nkurlu, from Songwe to Kibaha.

The President has also appointed 12 new district administrative secretaries and transferred four others.

The new appointees are Ali Said Ali for Temeke, Imani Fute for Kongwa, Mwanaid Nondo for Songea, Jane Daniel Mallongo for Nyang’wale, Leah Mbeke for Hanang, Shabani Ferdinand Manyama for Bunda, Mjata Daffa Abdallah for Bahi, Florida Julius Lulandala for Moshi, Shaaban Mursadi Mtengeti for Mbozi, Juma Nyasa Juma for Rufiji, Jafari Kikoti for Korogwe and Alexander Alfonce Mhando for Singida.

The changes also affect council executive directors, with 17 new DEDs appointed and 33 transferred to different councils.

Those appointed include Elikana Zabron for Pangani District Council, Agape Peter Fue for Sengerema, Samson Abas Sanga for Madaba, Warda Abeid Maulid for Kibaha Municipal Council, Charles Mwaitege for Mtama, Winfrid Erneus Tamba for Longido, Dinah Edward Msuya for Manyoni and Anna Lazaro Urio for Mkinga.

Others are Felix Joseph Tinkasimile for Mbozi, Niceforus Martin Mgaya for Kishapu, Idrisa Musa Naumanga for Kyerwa, Dadi Horace Kolimba for Mtwara Mikindani Municipal Council, William Mathew Makufwe for Njombe, Shaban Juma Mchomvu for Mufindi, Ramadhani Ali Kimara for Kibiti and Naima Bakari Chondo for Muheza.

Among the DEDs transferred are Anderson David Msumba, from Mtama to Bukoba; James Michael John, from Kyerwa to Lushoto; Ikupa Mwasyoge, from Lushoto to Rombo; Philimon Mwita Magesa, from Namtumbo to Tanga City Council; and Juma Hamsini, from Tanga City Council to Kigoma Municipal Council.

Other transfers include Kisena Magena Mabuba, from Kigoma Municipal Council to Kilosa; Beatrice Claver Mwinuka, from Kilosa to Namtumbo; Happiness Joachim Msanga, from Karagwe to Kisarawe; Upendo Eric Mangali, from Sumbawanga Municipal Council to Moshi Municipal Council; and Jamal Idrisa, from Mlimba to Kigamboni Municipal Council.

Dar es Salaam. Taifa Stars today face Madagascar in their second Group L Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 qualifier, with coach Miguel Gamondi demanding greater efficiency after last Friday’s 2-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau.

The match will be played in Fez, Morocco, from 4pm Tanzania time, with Stars seeking to produce a stronger performance and improve their attacking output after failing to convert their opportunities in the opening fixture.

Tanzania lost to Guinea-Bissau at the New Amaan Complex in Zanzibar, while Madagascar also started their campaign with a defeat, going down 2-1 to Nigeria.

The opening results leave Guinea-Bissau top of Group L on three points with a plus-two goal difference, followed by Nigeria, also on three points with a plus-one difference. Madagascar are third without a point, while Tanzania are fourth with a minus-two goal difference.

However, Tanzania’s position carries a different significance because the country is already guaranteed a place at the 2027 AFCON finals as one of the co-hosts alongside Kenya and Uganda.

The highest-placed team among Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and Madagascar will claim the additional qualification place from the group.

For Gamondi, though, the focus is firmly on improving Stars’ technical performance, particularly in front of goal.

The Argentine coach wants his players to make better use of the chances they create after their inability to convert opportunities contributed to the defeat against Guinea-Bissau.

‘The main task is to utilise well all the chances that my players will create,’ Gamondi said.

He stressed that possession and creating opportunities would have little value unless Stars can finish their attacking moves.

‘Football is not about saying you deserve it. It is about putting the ball in the net,’ he said.

The coach is therefore expected to demand greater composure and accuracy in the final third, while improving the connection between midfield and attack.

Stars will also need to be more decisive when transitioning from possession into attack, with quicker movement and better positioning required to create clear scoring opportunities.

The short turnaround has, however, limited the amount of time available for major tactical changes.

Gamondi said the team had little time to make significant adjustments after the Guinea-Bissau match, with the journey to Morocco adding to the physical demands on the players.

Tenants of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) in Arusha have started moving out of its properties after a 90-day notice expired on June 30 and was later extended to September 30, 2026.

The tenants, who live and operate businesses in NHC properties along Nyamezi and Sokoine streets, are leaving to make way for the redevelopment of the sites.

However, some tenants say the process has not adequately considered the investments they have made to improve their business premises or the length of time they have occupied the properties.

Speaking to Mwananchi on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, the tenants, who requested anonymity, said some had occupied the properties for between 30 and 40 years.

They said finding alternative business premises at short notice had proved difficult because many commercial properties in the city are leased on an annual basis, with some landlords only expecting new tenants from January.

The area earmarked for redevelopment has about 40 commercial shops and 50 residential units in central Arusha.

‘One decision I have made is to take all my goods home. I have tried to find premises in the city centre but have not succeeded. Landlords require a full year’s rent, so it is difficult to find vacant premises at the moment. They are telling us that we may have to wait until January when some tenants leave,’ said one tenant.

Another tenant who operates a general merchandise shop said they had tried to meet various officials to seek more time to avoid losses, particularly for goods that could deteriorate before January.

The tenant said the lack of an extension meant they would have to move their goods to storage facilities temporarily while looking for alternative premises.

Meanwhile, NHC Arusha regional manager Nistas Mvungi has warned tenants leaving the properties against removing or damaging fixtures and infrastructure installed in the buildings.

In a notice, Mr Mvungi said tenants occupying plots numbered 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12, Block B, along Sokoine Street were prohibited from removing doors, windows, frames and other fixtures.

‘Tenants are prohibited from breaking or removing any property installed in the buildings, including doors, windows, frames and other fixtures. Items fixed to the buildings are the property of the corporation. Water and electricity systems should also be left intact,’ he said.

NHC said the redevelopment project would help modernise the area in line with Arusha’s growth and its current and future status as a major city.

The corporation said the development was also intended to provide tenants with improved premises from which to operate their businesses.

It added that existing tenants would be among the first beneficiaries once the project is completed.

Procurement as an enabler of economic growth needs to help take Africa further forward through enabling more deliberate, focused, and thoughtful expenditure, in addition to supply chain professionals ensuring that money is not purposefully or accidentally wasted.

For roughly six and a half decades, African countries have been moving from political independence into economic independence, building key infrastructure – roads, hospitals, airports, mines, schools, power plants, ports, digital networks and public institutions – with public money, borrowed capital, development finance and private investment.

Yet the role of procurement as a further catalyst for growth has yet to be fully realised.

More than paperwork

Rather than being an administrative procedure, procurement is a vital mechanism that enables governments to determine where best to help ignite growth through ensuring that the right supplies are where they should be, when they should be, at the appropriate price.

Building a hospital in a specific area, for example, can catalyse job creation, manufacturing development, the growth of small businesses into larger ones, and surrounding industries.

Procurement is also key to ensuring that development investment circulates throughout the economy instead of leaking offshore, which is vital when it makes up such a substantial share of GDP and government spending across Africa.

As a result, procurement must go beyond ensuring compliance to being a key aspect of industrial and employment policy. This is where supply chain professionals can drive growth, through a shift in focus from just whether procedure was followed to ensuring that every dollar, kwacha, shilling, kwanza or franc is spent creating the greatest possible African development value while preserving integrity, competition and value for money.

Borrowed rules

As a continent, we have benefited from international experience – competitive tendering, transparency, independent oversight, audit trails and professional standards are essential. Yet, this has also brought with it policy replication, with procurement systems across Africa being shaped by colonial legal traditions, donor procedures and imported definitions of competition, designed primarily as fiduciary safeguards.

The need for mechanisms that prove that money was spent according to the rules is essential; yet cannot stand alone. Auditor General reports across Africa show that rigorous procurement compliance controls can be in place yet fail to deal with the indisputable fact that the right items need to be bought at the right price to ensure lasting domestic capability.

As supply chain professionals, we can, and must, move beyond the narrow, typically western approach of a $500 million public programme simply identifying qualified bidders.

Look inside

We need, instead, to turn inwards and ask how we can develop procurement into an African-centred, industrial policy-based approach that will also consider how much local economic value will be generated through the project.

This needs to be determined through questions such as how much of the money will remain in Africa, how African companies can best participate, whether local manufacturing capacity will be created, and whether local companies will be provided with opportunities for expansion – all of which will aid the circular economy.

When considering the circular economy, we also need to look to our neighbours as African countries pay a fragmentation premium. Fifty-five national markets are very often buying the same items across various industries – such as medicines for pharmaceutical retailers – which weakens collective bargaining power.

Intelligent aggregation – not indiscriminate centralisation – is how this cycle can be changed, with pooled procurement in health and pharmaceuticals a concrete example of how African demand can become a source of bargaining power and industrial development.

Across Africa, we should also ensure that we aid companies grow internally so they are not disadvantaged through size and have to compete unfairly for contracts. Here, government contracts can be connected to invoice and insurance finance, development finance institutions and appropriate fintech mechanisms.

Smart money

One way that we can ensure that we best meet the needs of our citizens through job creation and developing economies is through artificial intelligence (AI). Not only can AI ensure regulatory and legislative conformity, but it can also cut down on fraud through the use of information sharing across borders.

This is why I propose a digital-native procurement intelligence system – not just electronic tendering, but a Pan-African E-Procurement System built by African talent for Africa, in partnership with global AI powerhouses, which would enable the creation of a collective procurement intelligence database.

Success should be measured not by compliance and short-term savings, but by how much value stays within African economies.

That means moving from adapting other people’s procurement systems to designing our own – working with the world, competing with it where it matters, but no longer outsourcing the intellectual design of Africa’s economic future.

Tanzania Commercial Bank (TCB) has pledged to accelerate efforts to strengthen its financial capacity and performance as it seeks to increase its contribution to investment, production and implementation of the National Development Vision 2050.

TCB’s CEO and Managing Director, Mr Adam Mihayo, made the commitment as the main sponsor of the C-CEOs Forum 2026 for the third consecutive year. The forum brought together leaders of public institutions and State-owned enterprises to discuss ways of improving performance and increasing their contribution to the implementation of Dira 2050.

At the forum, Mr Mihayo outlined measures it is taking to strengthen its position as a financial institution, including increasing its profits and lending.

The bank is also preparing to enter the capital market, a move it says will strengthen its capital base and competitiveness in the financial sector.

The move follows plans announced by the Treasury Registrar’s Office to list some State-owned institutions on the capital market.

According to Mr Mihayo, entering the capital market would also create an opportunity for Tanzanians to participate in owning shares in the bank.

The bank said it plans to use its financial and digital capabilities to support implementation of Dira 2050 by increasing investment and production, promoting inclusive and competitive economic growth, and expanding economic opportunities for Tanzanians.

The C-CEOs Forum 2026 brought together leaders of public institutions and State-owned enterprises, alongside other stakeholders, to discuss public-sector performance, investment and access to financing for development projects.

Veteran Taarab singer Khadija Kopa has questioned the representation of Zanzibar in the ongoing Bongo Flava @30 celebrations, saying the anniversary events have so far failed to reflect the contribution of artistes from the Isles.

Kopa, who has spent decades in Tanzania’s music industry, said she did not attend the celebrations because she did not want to force her way into an event where she had not been invited.

‘We can’t go to someone else’s event and cause a disruption, only to be asked, ‘Who invited you?” Kopa said.

Her concern, however, extends beyond her own absence.

‘We didn’t even see the Zanzibari artistes… We saw Bongo Flava artistes from Tanganyika, not from Tanzania,’ she further added.

Her comments come as Bongo Flava @30 continues a nationwide celebration marking three decades of Tanzania’s homegrown music genre.

The celebrations began in Dar es Salaam, with the main event held at Mlimani City on July 10. The programme subsequently moved to Mwanza on August 8 and Dodoma on August 22 before reaching Arusha on September 19.

The Arusha edition featured veteran names including Jay Moe, Juma Nature, Dully Sykes, Mr Blue, Q Chief, Chidi Benz, Lady Jay Dee, Matonya and Crazy GK, alongside American hip-hop veteran Mr Cheeks.

The expansion beyond Dar es Salaam has been presented as part of an effort to take the anniversary celebration to different parts of the country and bring together artistes from different generations.

But Kopa’s comments raise a different question, how representative has that national celebration been of Zanzibar’s contribution to the story of Tanzanian popular music?

Kopa is not a Bongo Flava artiste in the conventional sense. She is one of Zanzibar’s established Taarab voices.

She has collaborated with artistes including Chid Benz and Diamond Platnumz.

Zanzibar also developed its own urban music movement, commonly known as Zenji Flava, as hip-hop and contemporary sounds were adapted to the Isles’ musical and cultural environment.

That history means the story of Tanzanian popular music cannot easily be separated into completely different mainland and Zanzibar chapters.

The question becomes even more significant when looking at the purpose of the Bongo Flava @30 celebrations.

Organiser Madee has described the anniversary as an opportunity to recognise the people who contributed to the growth of Bongo Flava, rather than only those who were appearing on stage. Saying that the anniversary has also traced the genre’s development to a combination of hip-hop influences, Tanzanian sounds and Kiswahili storytelling.

Yet Kopa’s criticism suggests that recognition is also about geography and whose version of the history is being presented.

Her reference to seeing ‘Bongo Flava from Tanganyika, not from Tanzania’ places the debate within the country’s own history and identity, challenging the idea that a national celebration can fully represent Tanzania’s music while leaving questions about Zanzibar’s participation.

The timing of the criticism is particularly notable because the Zanzibar leg of the anniversary has itself been postponed.

The Zanzibar concert was initially scheduled for October 3, but organisers have now moved it to October 17, 2026.

The event is expected to continue the Bongo Flava @30 celebrations in the Isles and provide a platform for Zanzibar’s music community to be part of the anniversary programme.

The postponement means the Zanzibar edition will now come after the mainland stops in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Dodoma and Arusha.

It also creates an opportunity for the anniversary to address the very concern raised by Kopa, whether the story of Bongo Flava’s 30 years can be told as a national story without giving Zanzibar’s artistes and music history a visible place in it.

As the anniversary heads to Zanzibar on October 17, the Isles will have an opportunity to add its own voices to the Bongo Flava @30 story.

The High Court’s Dar es Salaam Sub-Registry will deliver its judgment on November 6, 2026, in the treason case against Chadema national chairman Tundu Lissu.

The trial, which has lasted about a year, concluded on Tuesday, September 29, after the prosecution and defence presented their final submissions before a three-judge panel.

Mr Lissu is charged under Section 39(2)(d) of the Penal Code, Revised Edition 2022, with allegedly showing intent to threaten the Government.

The prosecution alleges that on April 3, 2025, Mr Lissu, while in Tanzania, made statements and published material online that incited the public to prevent the 2025 General Election.

The prosecution cited statements in which Mr Lissu allegedly said the opposition would prevent the election, mobilise rebellion and ‘disrupt’ the polls in pursuit of political change.

The case is being heard by Justices Dunstan Ndunguru, who chairs the panel, James Karayemaha and Ferdinand Kiwonde.

Mr Lissu presented his final submissions from September 23 to 28, arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge based on the evidence presented in court.

The prosecution presented its final submissions on September 29, arguing that it had met the required legal threshold.

State Attorney Nassoro Katuga said evidence from 17 prosecution witnesses, together with evidence from five defence witnesses, had established the charge beyond reasonable doubt.

‘We submit that the Republic has proved the charge beyond reasonable doubt and ask the court to find that the accused committed the offence,’ Mr Katuga told the court.

He said the prosecution’s sole objective had been to prove the charge under the provision, which he described as a new legal provision being applied for the first time in the case.

Justice Ndunguru thanked the parties and members of the public who attended the proceedings. He also referred to disruptions caused by ringing mobile phones during the hearing, saying the judges had not been provoked into invoking Section 114 of the Penal Code.

He said the court needed time to consider the lengthy evidence and final submissions, particularly because the case involved a charge being heard under the provision for the first time.

‘Therefore, we will deliver the judgment on November 6, 2026,’ Justice Ndunguru said.

Alliance One Tobacco Tanzania Limited (AOTTL) has paid Sh169.7 billion to tobacco growers and other stakeholders for the 2026 marketing season.

The company said Sh154.2 billion was paid directly to growers for tobacco purchases, while the remainder covered statutory and industry-related payments, including district cess, cooperative union dues, Tobacco Board regulatory and research fees, and council levies.

Speaking during a factory study tour by representatives of the Western Tanzania Tobacco Cooperative Union (WETCU) in Morogoro, AOTTL corporate affairs manager and company spokesperson John Magoti said all grower payments had been completed.

‘Timely payment is critical to growers and their families. It enables farmers to meet household needs, settle production costs, reinvest in farm operations and prepare for the next crop season,’ he said.

Magoti said the company’s supply chain supports more than 100,000 tobacco-growing households, while its grower programmes include contract farming, agronomic support, training and improved tobacco varieties.

AOTTL also operates a 570kWp rooftop solar system at its Kingolwira processing facility and has expanded the use of compressed natural gas (CNG).

The company said it had established about 1,784 hectares of forest plantations under the Joint Forest Management programme in partnership with the Government, communities and other stakeholders. More than four million trees have been planted under the programme, it said.

The company also invests more than Sh500 million annually in community programmes covering education, clean water, environmental conservation and community welfare.

The visiting WETCU delegation said the tour had provided insights into tobacco processing and quality requirements.

WETCU agronomist Walwa Msuka said the visit had highlighted how some processing challenges originate at farm level.

‘Proper crop handling, cleanliness and avoiding contamination with non-tobacco materials are essential in maintaining quality standards,’ he said.

He said the lessons would help strengthen farmer education and extension services to improve tobacco quality.