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Mbeya. Tension has gripped the Katumba-based Rungwe Tea Growers’ Factory in Mbeya Region after 216 workers staged a placard protest to oppose their dismissal.

They are demanding dues worth Sh2.1 billion and have appealed for government intervention. The factory has remained closed since May 9, 2025, disrupting the livelihoods of more than 15,000 tea farmers.

Some growers have abandoned their plantations, while others have shifted to alternative crops, dealing a blow to the district’s economy. Addressing the protest on Thursday, October 2, 2025, the workers vowed to remain at their jobs until their employers, Tatepa and Maris Africa, the factory’s investors, settle claims totalling more than Sh2.17 billion.

Workers’ claims committee chairman, Mr Robert Shayo, said the dismissal letters issued by the employers came as a shock. He explained that 216 workers had been instructed to vacate their jobs by September 30, 2025, in violation of contractual terms.

“Our stand is to remain at work. We are demanding national social security funds (NSSF) contributions, leave allowances, and other statutory benefits outlined in our contracts.

The decision caught us completely off guard,” said Mr Shayo. Explaining their defiance, Mr Shayo stressed that costs would rise legally as the proper termination procedures had not been observed.

Factory manager, Mr Stanslaus Benela, said the workers’ defiance highlighted the economic burden caused by the closure. He noted that the shutdown had hit tea farmers, reduced household incomes in Rungwe District, and slashed national revenue.

“Some farmers have abandoned their tea fields, while others are uprooting the crop for alternatives. We urge the government to intervene and secure a new investor,” said Mr Benela.

He added that more than 15,000 farmers had been affected, while the wider economy had suffered as unpaid water and electricity bills mounted, leaving surrounding communities in difficulty. “Financial institutions that once processed salaries and farmers’ payments are no longer operating.

Even social security funds are missing contributions,” he said. Tanzania Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (TPAWU) secretary in Mbeya Region, Ms Jacline Novat, said the union had proposed that the employer pay workers their basic salaries, leave allowances, service certificates, and long-service awards.

She added that the employer was urged to provide Sh500,000 to each worker in recognition of their service, three months’ housing allowance, and transport costs for employees from outside Tukuyu. “We are awaiting the employer’s response by Monday to determine our fate.

In the meantime, we urge patience as their representative has assured us of feedback,” said Ms Novat. The factory’s board of directors’ representative, Mr Essau Sengo, acknowledged the protest and pledged to forward the workers’ concerns to the employer before giving a response on Monday.

He urged the workers to remain calm, stressing that the priority was to adhere to laws and procedures to ensure they receive their entitlements. “On behalf of the board, I assure all workers that your message has been received.

I will act on it and provide feedback by Monday. Rest assured, we are committed to protecting your rights through lawful means,” said Mr Sengo.

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Washington. The U.S. Senate will vote again on Friday on dueling Democratic and Republican plans to end a government shutdown now entering its third day, though there is no sign that either plan will win passage.

Lawmakers do not appear to have made any headway toward a deal that would allow them to resume government funding, and Democrats and Republicans have spent the past several days blaming each other for their failure to keep the government funded beyond October 1, the start of the fiscal year. Democrats say any funding package must also expand pandemic-era healthcare subsidies due to expire at the end of December, while Republicans say that issue should be dealt with separately.

U.S.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has frozen billions of dollars earmarked for Democratic-leaning states and threatened to fire more federal workers, on top of the 300,000 he will have forced out by the end of the year. His budget chief, Russ Vought, has asked federal agencies to draw up plans to lay off those whose work is not aligned with the administration’s priorities.

The shutdown, the 15th since 1981, has suspended scientific research, economic data reports, financial regulation, and a wide range of other activities. Pay has been suspended for roughly 2 million federal workers, though troops, airport security screeners, and others deemed “essential” must still report to work.

A prolonged shutdown could disrupt air travel, food aid for millions of Americans, and force federal courts to close. Federal workers would miss their first paycheck in mid-October if the standoff is not resolved by then.

The longest shutdown lasted 35 days in 2018-2019, during Trump’s first term in office. The Senate has three times already rejected a Republican plan, which would fund the government through November 21, and a Democratic alternative that would also bolster the expiring health subsidies.

The chamber will vote on both of those plans again on Friday. Republicans control both chambers of Congress, but they need at least seven Democratic votes to advance spending legislation in the Senate.

A group of senators from both parties say they have been exploring a compromise. But some Democrats say they do not trust Republicans to honor any agreement that would first reopen the government and then tackle the healthcare subsidies, which were passed as part of a 2021 Democratic COVID relief package and now help 24 million Americans pay for coverage.

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New York. Sean “Diddy” Combs is due to be sentenced on Friday for prostitution-related charges, with prosecutors pushing for the hip-hop mogul to spend more than a decade in prison and the defense urging his swift release.

A jury on July 2 convicted Combs, 55, on two counts of arranging for paid male escorts to travel across state lines to take part in drug-fueled sexual performances – sometimes known as “Freak Offs” – with Combs’ girlfriends while he recorded video and masturbated. Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter.

Sign up here. The jury acquitted him on the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, which could have earned him a life sentence.

Combs pleaded not guilty and is expected to appeal his conviction after sentencing. The founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs is credited with elevating hip-hop’s stature in American culture.

The New York-born entrepreneur is one of the most prominent men in the entertainment industry to have faced trial on sex crimes charges. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian is due to sentence Combs at a hearing in Manhattan starting at 10 a.

m. EDT (1400 GMT).

Combs faces up to 20 years in prison, though the judge has a wide degree of discretion in crafting a punishment. Combs, who has been behind bars at a Brooklyn jail since his conviction, is expected to address the court.

In a four-page letter to Subramanian, filed with the court on Thursday, Combs apologized “for all the hurt and pain that I caused others by my conduct,” and asked the judge for mercy, saying, “I lost my way.” “Lost in the drugs and excess.

My downfall was rooted in my selfishness,” he wrote, adding that the ordeal of incarceration had left him “humbled and broken to my core.” He also said he was now sober for the first time in 25 years.

A former personal assistant to Combs, known in court by the pseudonym Mia, is also expected to speak. Mia testified at his trial that he raped her multiple times.

Over the course of a two-month trial earlier this year, prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S.

Attorney’s office argued Combs coerced two of his former girlfriends – the rhythm-and-blues singer Casandra Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane – into partaking in the performances through violence and threats to withhold financial support. Nate Rae always felt secure living openly as a transgender man since coming out in his late 20s.

Jurors saw surveillance footage of Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016, an incident she testified took place after a Freak Off. Jane testified that Combs last year attacked her and told her to perform oral sex on a male escort after she said she did not want to.

Combs’ lawyers acknowledged he had physically abused his girlfriends, but argued they willingly took part in the sexual performances. Both Ventura and Jane testified that they at times took part consensually because they loved Combs and wanted to please him.

Prosecutors are pushing for Combs to spend 11-1/4 years in prison. Defense lawyers say the appropriate sentence is 14 months, which would mean Combs would be released by the end of the year after receiving credit for time served.

In pushing for leniency, Combs’ lawyers said he helped his fellow inmates at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center by teaching a six-week course on business management and personal development called “Free Game with Diddy.” As part of the class, inmates were required to write an essay about “lessons learned from Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ journey,” court filings show.

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This is the second and last part of a conversation we suspended on the September 19 edition of ‘The Pub’. My long-time drinking mate, Mjumbe, and I invited Mwalimu Peterson, aka Mwalimu Peter, to our table for a chat.

Peter, traditionally a very moderate drinker, is presently a massive boozer. We wanted Peter to sit down with us and tell us what has been happening to him and why he has become such a supreme drinker.

The kind of guy who’d drink until his wallet went dry and there’s no mshikaji to tell him, “Get one from me before you leave, bro.” When we asked what had befallen him, his eyes popped out of their sockets, and, trying his best to conceal his anger over our intrusiveness, he had claimed, “Mbona sina shida yoyote?” (There’s absolutely no problem with me!) Ignoring his denial, which psychologists would tell you is a typical reaction of addicts, we offered him more beers and pressed him to open up, and he did.

“I stay for as long as possible in bars to escape from my mama watoto,” he says. “She isn’t a very good woman.

” “But our Shemeji, as we know her, is a sociable person,” reacted Mjumbe and continued, “In any case, she’s a teacher, and teachers, especially female teachers as we all know them, are nice, disciplined individuals.” I nodded in agreement.

Peter says we’re entitled to our opinion, adding, however, that we’re totally wrong about our shemeji. He informs us that his wife, who’s actually someone’s ex, came along with three children from two different fathers, and he accommodated them all.

“She doesn’t appreciate my foolishness and bullies me instead!” laments Peter. “Do you have any children with her?” I ask him, and he says no, adding that he’s blessed with two children who, however, left with his former wife, now living in Canada.

“Duh!” That’s all I’m able to say. He claims his new wife, who he describes as a bully, was fired from her teaching job after she became overly involved with a religious outfit that preaches about miracle wealth, demons, djinns, zombies and witchcraft, all the time! “She relates everything she doesn’t like with witchcraft She even claims that I’ve been bewitched by my brothers to take alcohol and remain poor She suggests I should join her in her worshipping outfit so that their “prophet” can exorcise the demons out of me.

” I say, “Pole sana, bro, but generally, how are you relating as wife and husbandyou know what I mean” Peter’s answer, “Not well, quite often she wakes up in the middle of the night to chase away non-existent things she calls mapepo!” What’s more, says Peter, his wife is consistently and falsely accusing him of being a philanderer and insists on checking his phone, charging that every female contact he has is his concubine! That’s utter nonsense, of course, he says. “The other day, she poured down the handwashing sink all the contents of a wine bottle I received from my friends as a birthday present, claiming the wine is the devil’s urine,” says Peter.

By the end of our conversation with Mwalimu Peter, I’m convinced our friend, and his wife, could do with serious, professional counselling from where, I can’t guess for now. .

Dar es Salaam. The government has launched a three-year breast cancer initiative that brings digital technology into screening, diagnosis, and treatment at the primary healthcare level, aiming to improve early detection, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

The Beat Breast Cancer Project, running from 2025 to 2027, will be implemented in Mwanza, Tanga, Morogoro, and Mtwara, alongside five regions of Zanzibar, involving dispensaries, health centres, and Community Health Workers (CHWs). Director of Health, Social Welfare and Nutrition at the President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), Dr Rashid Mfaume, told the ongoing Tanzania Health Summit on Friday, October 3, 2025, that the project combines three diagnostic methods: ultrasound imaging, fine-needle aspiration cytology, and core-needle biopsy.

“The project targets early detection. If identified in the first stages, patients can be completely cured,” he said, noting that CHWs have been trained to recognise symptoms, raise awareness, and refer suspected cases to primary facilities.

Statistics show breast cancer is the second most common cancer in Tanzania, accounting for 14.4 percent of new cases, and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Together, cervical and breast cancers comprise more than half of all new female cancer cases (Globocan 2022).

Dr Mfaume said CHWs now play a crucial role, noting that they are trained to screen for both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Furthermore, he said, when they suspect cases, they refer women to nearby facilities, which use their own resources to purchase basic diagnostic tools.

“This way, women are referred early, instead of waiting until the disease has advanced,” he said. The ultimate goal, he explained, is to expand awareness, promote early diagnosis, and strengthen treatment and palliative care services.

This aligns with the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative, which calls for 60 percent of cases to be detected at stage one or two within 60 days, and at least 80 percent of patients to access full treatment. Jhpiego’s Country Director, Ms Alice Christensen, said the organisation is pleased to partner with the Pfizer Foundation and the Ministry of Health to accelerate the fight against breast cancer in Tanzania.

“We had a one-year pilot in 2024, but Pfizer was very pleased with the outcomes and has extended support for three years. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women, yet many seek care late, when it has already spread and is harder to treat,” she said.

Ms Christensen stressed Jhpiego’s efforts to reach women earlier through community-level awareness campaigns, encouraging them to attend screening. “By collaborating with community workers, more women will be reached for detection.

Most present late, when treatment becomes much harder,” she said. The project is funded by the Pfizer Foundation and managed by Jhpiego Project Director Dr Maryrose Giattas Kahwa.

It will cover nine regions, 45 councils, and support 137 facilities on both the Mainland and Zanzibar. “We are complementing government strategies to save lives by strengthening early screening, diagnosis, and treatment for women with breast cancer,” she said.

Dr Kahwa noted that over 31 ultrasound machines and more than 1,000 diagnostic tools have already been distributed, worth Sh590 million. She added that partnerships are supporting patients without health insurance or the means to travel for treatment.

Director for Maternal and Child Health Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr Nassoro Mzee, explained that while 99 percent of cases occur in women, breast cancer also affects men, though rarely. He said, unlike in the past when tissue had to be surgically removed and sent to referral hospitals, these procedures are now available at council facilities where most Tanzanians seek care.

“This digital service allows women to be tested, receive results electronically, and continue treatment locally. Mobile outreach teams can even collect samples on site,” said Dr Mzee.

The Beat Breast Cancer Project will run from January 2025 to December 2027 in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the President’s Office, with funding from the Pfizer Foundation under Jhpiego. .

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is increasing its investment in digital health and data-driven technologies to accelerate progress toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr Seif Shekalaghe, revealed that the government is drafting the Digital Health Strategy 20252030, which will prioritise integrating artificial intelligence, strengthening data privacy, and expanding digital literacy training for health workers. He made the remarks at the official opening of the 12th Tanzania Health Summit (THS), emphasising that digital innovation will transform the health sector and help save lives.

“This year’s theme, Harnessing Data Utilisation and Technologies to Accelerate Universal Health Coverage, is timely and aligned with our national vision. Data and technology are no longer luxuries but essential tools in modern healthcare,” he said.

Dr Shekalaghe stressed that the government is determined to achieve UHC by 2030. “We want to ensure no one is denied essential services or pushed into poverty by medical costs,” he added. National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Arusha manager, Mr Hipoliti Lello, said the fund is ready for UHC registration, having developed strategies to make enrolment more convenient.

He noted that digital innovation is key to expanding access. “So far, we have covered only 15 percent of the population, while 85 percent remain outside the scheme.

This requires major effort to reach the rest,” he said. Mr Lello added, “NHIF is optimistic that digital transformation will help address UHC challenges.

We have already introduced a platform enabling individuals and organisations to enrol and manage their insurance plans.” He explained that clients or organisations no longer need to visit NHIF offices physically, as registration, plan selection, and payments can now be done digitally.

“Previously, people had to submit National Identification Cards (NIDA) and hard copies of documents. With this integration, customers will not need to visit our offices.

Doctors must also verify their qualifications before treating NHIF members, and only licensed practitioners can process claims,” he said. He noted that NHIF has reduced the cost and time for producing IDs by adopting e-cards and Nida numbers.

“We are also exploring mobile numbers to identify members at health facilities,” he added. He said the previous cost of producing IDs, about $5, has been cut, while biometric recognition using fingerprints and facial scans will further ease access and reduce complaints about delayed membership cards.

Director of information and communication technology (ICT) at the President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), Mr Eric Kitali, said embracing technology is essential for achieving UHC. “AI will not replace humans.

Rather, humans are AI. It is therefore important to adopt and adapt emerging technologies to move forward,” he said.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative, Mr Mark Schreiner, urged the government to scale up investment in digital health to accelerate UHC, warning that reduced donor funding requires greater domestic financing. “The government must take decisive steps to strengthen health financing, including innovative schemes such as health insurance and health taxes,” he said, citing the HIV Response Levy and its allocation to the AIDS Trust Fund as a strong example of local commitment.

He also highlighted the role of public-private partnerships in bringing agility and investment to the health sector, while urging the use of disaggregated data to tackle inequalities and strengthen accountability. “Let this summit be a springboard for bold action.

With government leadership, private sector innovation and development partner solidarity, Tanzania can build a resilient, data-driven health system that delivers quality care to all,” he said. Earlier reports indicate that the government is implementing flagship innovations, such as the m-mama emergency transport system, which utilizes a toll-free line and mobile app to coordinate transportation for expectant mothers and newborns in distress.

The initiative, rolled out nationwide last year, is expected to reach more than 50,000 women and infants annually. In pilot regions, it cut maternal deaths by up to 27 percent.

Another milestone is Jamii ni Afya, Zanzibar’s digital community health programme, the first of its kind globally to be government-led at full national scale. The programme connects households with digitally equipped community health volunteers, ensuring nearly all 1.

9 million Zanzibaris have access to doorstep healthcare. .

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania and Kenya have successfully eliminated four non-tariff trade barriers as part of their efforts to enhance business relations between the two neighboring countries.

This agreement was reached during the Ninth Meeting of the Joint Trade Committee (JTC), which took place in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday. Officials from both countries reviewed a total of 14 outstanding barriers, with plans to resolve the remaining 10 by March 31, 2026. Dr Hashil Abdallah, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, announced that the lifted restrictions include the removal of the withholding tax on TBL beers exported to Kenya, the elimination of tax stamps and associated charges, and the facilitation of livestock product exports from Kenya, in accordance with East African Community (EAC) resolutions.

Additionally, the requirement for Comesa insurance, which does not apply to Tanzania, has been abolished. “These decisions reflect our commitment to ensuring that trade between Tanzania and Kenya is conducted fairly and in compliance with EAC agreements,” said Dr Abdallah.

He further stated that a Joint Technical Committee has been established to oversee this implementation and to ensure that no trader encounters unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. “Our aim is to make Tanzania a secure, reliable, and business-friendly destination while positioning the East African Community as a safe region for investment,” he added.

Kenya’s Principal Secretary for East African Community Affairs, Dr Caroline Karugu, highlighted that the progress made signifies a strong political will from both governments. “We have already achieved a 78 percent resolution rate, which demonstrates our commitment.

These successes are rooted in the agreements established during President William Ruto’s state visit to Tanzania in October 2022,” she stated. Her colleague in the State Department for Trade, Ms Regina Ombam, described the agreements as crucial for transforming regional trade.

She emphasized that simplifying systems and removing obstacles would create a better environment for traders throughout East Africa. “This step showcases our determination to enhance trade and prepare the region for global competition,” she said, encouraging citizens in both countries to embrace digital business and new economic opportunities.

This recent progress follows directives issued by Presidents Samia Suluhu Hassan and William Ruto on October 10, 2022, when they instructed their investment ministers to eliminate the 14 trade barriers. At that time, President Hassan noted that her administration had continued the efforts initiated by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, stating that out of 68 identified barriers, 54 had already been resolved.

“Tanzania and Kenya should not share poverty and humiliation but rather share the wealth generated through trade,” she said. President Ruto also expressed his commitment to continuing collaboration with Tanzania, acknowledging that the removal of these obstacles has yielded tangible benefits, particularly for Tanzania.

Tanzania. .