By FAUSTINE KAPAMA-Judiciary, Dodoma
THE Chief Justice of Tanzania, Hon. Prof. Ibrahim Hamis Juma has called for collective efforts, notably the international and regional cooperation in the fight against financial crimes and urged judicial officers to keep abreast Tanzania's commitment to addressing the problem.
Hon. Prof. Juma made such an appeal today dated January 31, 2024 when opening the high-level judicial symposium on financial crimes in Dodoma, which was attended by Court of Appeal Justices, including the Dean, Hon. Augustine Mwarija.
Others in attendance were President African Court on Human and Peoples Rights, Hon. Lady Justice Iman Aboud, Principal Judge, High Court of Tanzania, Hon. Mustafa Mohamed Siyani, the President, East African Court of Justice. Hon. Nestor Kayobera, Principal Judge, East African Court of Justice, Hon. Yohana Masara, Judges of the High Court of Tanzania and other guest.
The Chief Justice said that Tanzania’s efforts is evident in the steps she has taken since 1999, when the country became one of the founding members of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), established in 1999 in Arusha, Tanzania.
“As a member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group, Tanzania accepts the Financial Action Task Force to evaluate the efficacy of Tanzania's anti-money laundering measures periodically, and steps Tanzania takes to contain loopholes that may facilitate terrorist financing,” he said.
Hon. Prof. Juma emphasized further that the Judiciary of Tanzania occupies a critical role in strengthening the effectiveness of Tanzania's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism regimes.
“Tanzania’s Anti- money laundering and anti-terrorist financing cannot succeed if the Judiciary is a weak link with loopholes that allow financial crimes to thrive,” the Chief Justice said, stressing on the need of pursuing knowledge outside the confinements of court files.
He pointed out that while members of the executive and legislative arms of government share information with their regional and global counterparts, members of the judiciaries rarely access information on the dangers posed by financial crimes.
Hon. Prof. Juma said, the Symposium also exemplifies the importance of judicial officers continually learning and sharing expertise and experiences in the global environment where rapidly changing technologies make today's knowledge and expertise obsolete in the face of transnational and cross-border financial crimes.
The Chief Justice pointed out that the high-level Symposium provides an excellent platform for members of Judiciary of Tanzania and its criminal justice stakeholders to collectively and collaboratively appreciate the dangers financial crimes pose and the importance of multi-sector cooperation.
“We must come out of this High-Level Symposium understanding that national judiciaries and Law Enforcement Agencies cannot remain isolated and confined within national boundaries and laws. Cross- border international and regional cooperation is unavoidable in the fight against financial crimes, which disguise their illegal origin,” he said.
Hon. Prof. Juma invited participants to find time to read the National Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment 2022-2027 Report and The Financial Action Task Force Report, which urge that supervision, monitoring, and assessment to control financial crimes should not target only Formal Financial Institutions.
“Other entities or individuals outside traditional financial institutions have the potential to facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing, or the commission of other financial crimes. The Financial Action Task Force wants Tanzania also to monitor, supervise, and assess the risks of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions like Advocates, Court Brokers, who handle activities which may facilitate the commission of financial crimes,” he said.
Speaking at the occasion, the British High Commissioner, His Excellency David Concar commended the initiative shown in the past year by the President Samia Suluhu Hassan to establish fa commission and now a committee, led by his Excellency the former Chief Justice Chande Othman, to deliver an ambitious programme of Criminal Justice Reform.
“This Committee has set out a proposed agenda which is wide ranging across the entire criminal justice sector, including many of the institutions represented here today. The issues raised such as improving evidence, reducing delays and supporting victims are issues which all of our criminal justice systems face,” he said.
The British High Commissioner was pleased that through the UK’s Security and Justice programming, they are supporting the preliminary work of the presidential Committee as it seeks to work through the task of implementing the recommendations.
“We share the hope of his excellency, the former Chief Justice Chande Othman, that addressing the wider reforms identified in this report will assist not only financial crimes but how the criminal justice serves the people of Tanzania,” he said.
In his welcoming remarks, the Principal of Institute of Judicial Administration Lushoto and Court of Appeal Justice, Hon. Dkt. Paul Kihwelo told the participants that the choice of the theme for this year’s Symposium signifies collective commitment and resolve to address the recurring problem of financial crimes, including money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
He explained that the Symposium has come at an opportune time when Tanzania is in the midst of implementing recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force following the government’s high-level political commitment to strengthen the effectiveness of its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.
“It is on account of that backdrop we have invited strategic partners beyond our borders so as to share experience in realization that the fight against financial crimes is not confined within national boundaries but is a global phenomenon demanding concerted efforts beyond national boundaries,” he said.
The Symposium has been organized by the Judiciary of Tanzania through the Institute of Judicial Administration Lushoto (IJA), in collaboration with the British High Commission and the Delegation of the European Union. It is supported by the Building Sustainable Anti-Corruption Action in Tanzania (BSAAT) initiative.
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