ARUSHA regional commissioner Paul Makonda was in violation of human rights by ordering the detention of one resident Arusha for up to 96 hours.

Judge Mathew Mwaimu, the chairman of the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) told a press conference here yesterday that his team received complaints about the RC and upon investigations they concluded that the directive the RC issued to arrest and detain the resident “was not in line with the presumed offense.”

After investigation CHRAGG realized that the directive had no legal basis and did not consider the kind of offense and legal procedures related to handling such offenses, he said, affirming that the said resident “was not the main culprit in the matter at hand.”

Setting out a summary of complaints received and investigated by the commission for 2022/2023 and 2023/2024, he stated that the RC overstepped his mandate by making a decision on a matter that was supposed to take an appropriate legal procedure and court process.

Skipping the resident’s identity or when the offense occurred, he said the matter was like other offenses, deserving a hearing in a court of law and not arrest and detention for more than four days without appearing in court.

“Even if there were elements of criminality, the best approach would have been to direct police officers to take due legal actions,” he emphasised affirming that despite being asked to appear before a commission panel, the RC failed to do so and thus the conclusion was made in his absence.

Appearing before the panel for questioning would provide an opportunity for those named in such cases to be heard and explain their viewpoint on the matter but upon failure to appear before the select committee, it is proper in law to reach any conclusions.

The retired judge appealed to public officials to adhere to the law, regulations and statutory procedures when undertaking their duties, avoiding taking the law into their own hands.

On other matters investigated, he said CHRAGG received 154 new cases, and worked on 789 cases whereas on 1st July, 2023 some 885 cases were still pending. From July 1, 2023 to May 30, 2024 a total of 135 new complaints were received, he stated.

Investigations on 784 complaints were still being pursued, he said, pointing out that out of the number, 302 complaints relate to retirement benefits, failure to remit contributions to pension funds and salary arrears.

CHRAGG officials conducted special investigations on some 20 issues on land, environmental degradation or ruin, cases of violence and misuse of powers.

Other complaints related to the police, about which the commission demands that police authorities work to ensure that their officers are put to periodic training on how to carry out their duties as stipulated in the law.