Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan talks to DW

Remarks by President Samia Suluhu Hassan on the terrorism case against opposition Chadema party chairman Freeman Mbowe sparked some public concerns months ago. To many Tanzanians, she seemed to reveal a bias while discussing the case with international media.

At the time, Mbowe was in custody and pre-trial proceedings were underway in the case, in which charges of economic sabotage and terrorism were brought against him. On Friday, those hearings culminated in a court ruling that Mbowe and several co-accused should face trial for economic sabotage and terrorism. 

The ruling came two days after President Suluhu Hassan held talks with Mbowe's opposition leader, Tundu Lissu. The Chadema vice chairman said he had requested the meeting, in which he said he had asked the president to scrap the case against Mbowe. 

In an interview on the sidelines of the EU-African Union summit in Brussels, DW's Sudi Mnette asked President Suluhu Hassan about the case.

DW: The court case of opposition leader Freeman Mbowe raised eyebrows after you appeared to speak about him as a convict. Some political analysts said that the president has concluded the fate of Mr. Mbowe. Could you clarify this?

Samia Suluhu Hassan: Clarification of what? As you said, the issue is in a court of law. Let us leave it to the court to decide.

Clarifying concerns that the president is interfering with other organs of power.

How many statements should I make for clarifications? People say many things about the president. Will you be able to clarify each and everything? Let people say what they want. I said earlier, I allow freedom of speech. Because when people say, I get to know where the problem is and I correct it in the government. So why clarifications? Let them say the case is in court, let the court decide if he is guilty or not. We cannot say anything about that.

Although some banned newspapers have been allowed to operate again, the controversial 2016 law, under which they were banned is still there. Will that law be changed, or will the media have always to depend on the goodwill of those in power?

Media should work according to the law. And when they operate against the law, they are banned. The law is there. It is for the media operators to follow the law. There is no country where every media outlet is doing whatever it wants without following the law.

You have been heard speaking about the possibility of building a facility to produce COVID-19 vaccines in your country. What steps have you taken to make this a reality?

Producing COVID-19 vaccines has got some challenges, especially on obtaining the formula to produce them. Those who were the first ones to develop the formula are clinging to them and are not ready to give them to others, as for them, it is a business. So, we are ready for them to come and invest in the country, so they produce vaccines in Tanzania, and we and our neighbors will be able to acquire them easily.

What is the nature of the relationship between Tanzania and the European Union?

EU-Tanzania relations are good — very good. Tanzania established relations with EU since the 1970s and we have been doing great all that time. I admit there has been some misunderstandings now and then, especially three or four years ago, but we have sat down and talked and they have reestablished the relations.

When our relations were in bad shape, the EU decided to withhold their grant for projects that Tanzania had asked for, but now they have released it and everything is good. At the time they withheld, we were implementing a five-year program that had already used some money. The rest — €111.5 million — for the year 2021 was not yet issued. Now we have agreed on it and have signed it to be released soon.

What prompted the misunderstandings with the EU and what has been changed so far?

At that time, it was about having different opinions, for example, on issues like the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreements), political ideologies — may be Europe said something that did not please us. But over time, we have spoken about them and now all is well.

Climate change is a global issue and the most serious one. What does Tanzania do about it?

We were told the global warming should not exceed 2 degrees Celsius from where it is now but we are not at 1.5. In Tanzania, we are seeing the effects. Also the ocean is rising to the extent where some islets are about to be swept away by water. The sea is now crossing to human settlements. We are also witnessing some lakes moving a little further from where they were. We see the effects and we take some measures.

But, with little funds and the blow from coronavirus, our economic capability is very low. That is why when we were at the global climate conference in Glasgow, we told developed nations to be as good as their word and to fulfill their promises, so that developing nations can fight the effects of climate change.

We tell those rich nations to fulfill their promises so that we in developing nations are able to fight or adapt the effects of climate change.

Mohammed Khelef and Benita van Eyssen contributed to this report. The interview was originally conducted in Kiswahili.

Edited by: Nicole Goebel