29. The Respondent further contends that the right to equal protection of the law is
provided under Article 13(1) of the Tanzanian Constitution of 1977, and as
such, the alleged violation could have been challenged through a Constitutional
Petition in accordance with the Basic Rights and Duties Enforcement Act.
30.|n support of its claim, the Respondent State relies on the Commission's
jurisprudence in Communicalion Article 19 versus Eritrea and the Court's own
jurisprudence in Applications No. 00312012 - Peter Joseph Chacha yersus
United Republic of Tanzama and No. 003/2011
-
Urban Mkandawire vs.
Republic of Malawi.
31.1n his Reply, the Applicant reiterates that he has exhausted all local remedies.
He claims that, with respect to the constitutional petition, the Judge of the High
Court could never make a ruling which would be at variance with the judgment
rendered by a bench of judges of the Court of Appeal. With regard to the
Respondent State's allegation on legal aid, the Applicant submits that the legal
aid sought is that provided for in Rule 31 of the Rules.
***
32.The Court notes that the Applicant filed an Appeal and had access to the
highest court of the Respondent State, namely, the Court of Appeal, with the
prayer to adjudicate on the various allegations, especially those regarding
violations of the right to a fair trial.
the possibility of filing a constitutional petition, the Court has
previously stated that this remedy in the Tanzanian judicial system is an
33. Concerning
extraordinary remedy that the Applicant is not required to exhaust.3
34. Regarding the objection of the Respondent State that the issue of legal aid was
being raised in this Court for the first time, the Court holds that the said objection
is no longer an issue because, according to the Applicant, the legal assistance
he referred to in his Application was not in relation to the domestic proceedings,
3
Alex Thomas v Tanzania Judgment, op. cit., paras. 60 - 62; Mohamed Abubakari v Tanzania
ment, op. crt., paras.66-70;Application No.01112015, Judgmentot2Sl9l20l7,ChristopherJonas
United Republic of Tanzania, para. 44.
8
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