Tanzania

Freedom of expression is initially mentioned in the Second Schedule of Tanzania’s first constitution. The document was established in 1961 after the country gained independence from the United Kingdom.

“The Tanganyika (Constitution) Order in Council, 1961.” Citizenship Rights Africa. Accessed June 26, 2023. http://citizenshiprightsafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Tanganyika-Constitution-Order-in-Council-1961-SI-2274.pdf

Tanzania’s constitution of 1977 article 20 provides every person the freedom to associate. The article highlights five restrictions to the freedom of association which include: violent associations, tribal or religious political associations, and the breakdown of the United Republic.

Judiciary of Tanzania. 2005. THE CONSTITUTION of the UNITED REPUBLIC of TANZANIA. Www.judiciary.go.tz. http://www.judiciary.go.tz/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/constitution.pdf. (Orig. pub. 1977.).

The first assertion of the freedom of religion in Tanzania is the 1977 constitution after the unification of the states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar after their independence from the United Kingdom. Article 9, 13, 19, and 39.2 grants religious freedom, equality, and prohibit religious discrimination. The preamble and article 3 declare Tanzania to be secular.

https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Tanzania_2005

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA Office of The Attorney General. “The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977.” Last modified 2005. Accessed July 5, 2022. https://oagmis.agctz.go.tz/portal/constitutions/eyJpdiI6IkFmY0NLQ1wvQWJsUmliZWUxbWh1MVpnPT0iLCJ2YWx1ZSI6IlIwdWx4VnQ3a3plWnFqb0pjcnlvQlE9PSIsIm1hYyI6ImEwNTQxYzdhNTIxMThlYWJlNzU3Mzc5NzZkMmRiYWJkODc4Nzc1ZjVjYjY0NTQ5OTQxYzg3NmYwMDZlN2Y5ZjkifQ==

Article 5 in Tanzania’s Constitution grants all citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote in any election. Members of Parliament and the President are elected by the people. (Constitute Project, “Tanzania’s Constitution of 1977 with Amendments through 2005”).

Tanzania’s 1961 Constitution did not explicitly protect press freedom, but did protect freedom of expression (Citizenship Rights Africa, "The Tanganyika Constitution"

Today, Article 18 of Tanzania’s 1977 Constitution protects press freedom as a part of freedom of expression: “Without prejudice to expression the laws of the land, every person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and to seek, receive and impart or disseminate information and ideas through any media regardless of national frontiers, and also has the right of freedom from interference with his communications" (Constitute Project, “Tanzania’s Constitution of 1977 with Amendments through 2005”).

The 1965 constitution of Tanzania did not explicitly provide for privacy but defaulted “to safeguard the inherent dignity of the individual in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” during the preamble (World Statesmen, “The Interim Constitution of Tanzania”). Today, the 1997 constitution (as amended in 2005) privacy and personal security in Article 16 (Constitute Project, “Tanzania’s Constitution of 1977 with Amendments through 2005”).

http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Tanzania-Constitution-1965.pdf https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Tanzania_2005?lang=en