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Nyamuma villagers refer case to Court of Appeal
2005-11-02 07:59:50
By Keregero Keregero
Comlainants in the Nyamuma human rights violation case have lodged their dissatisfaction at the Court of Appeal.
The move follows the ruling made a couple of months ago by Land Division of the High Court of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, which was not favourable to them.
Judge Projest Rugazia dismissed the application for enforcement that had been filed by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) on behalf of the villagers, that sought the Court’s order for re-settlement of the villagers in their original village, Nyamuma.
They claim they had lived for ages before they were forcefully evicted.
The application was dismissed on grounds that the Court had no jurisdiction to deal with the enforcement requirement, as the law that established the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance regards the Commission’s findings as recommendations and not enforceable decisions similar to those of a competent Court of law.
The High Court said the effect of the wording of the parent Act, the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance Act, No.7 of 2001 pre-supposed that the inquiry conducted by the Commission into the Nyamuma allegations did not amount to a hearing of which recommendations required enforcement by a Court of law.
The decision aggrieved the complainants, causing the Dar es Salaam based Legal and Human Rights Centre(LHRC) which represents the villagers to instruct lawyers, Francis Stolla and Alex Mgongolwa to file the application to the highest Court of the land.
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