In November 2021, seven people, including a 3-year-old child, died on Pemba Island after eating turtle meat. Three other people got very sick and had to go to the hospital.
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Zuchu, one of Tanzania’s prominent musicians, has been prohibited from staging performances in Zanzibar for six months after a concert that was considered inappropriate.
During her show on Kendwa Island last month, Zuchu used sexually explicit language and gestures, which led to the decision by the Zanzibar arts council. The council stated that her performance contradicted the customs, traditions, and culture of the islands.
Additionally, media reports indicate that Zuchu was fined approximately $390 (£306) for performing without registration with the council.
Zuchu, also known as Zuhura Othman Soud, has not responded publicly to the ban video posted on her Instagram account.
“The goal was to entertain and not to mislead,” she said.
Zanzibar, renowned as a sought-after tourist destination in Tanzania, received accolades from various travel publications last year, ranking among the top 10 travel destinations in Africa.
However, despite its popularity, the island’s residents hold socially conservative views, leading to objections when video clips of Zuchu’s performance circulated on social media.
At 30 years old, Zuchu holds the distinction of being the first female musician in East Africa to amass one million YouTube subscribers within a year.
Additionally, her achievements include being the first female musician in East Africa and only the fifth female artist on the continent to surpass 500 million YouTube views, as reported by her label, WCB Wasafi.
The UN climate body claims that carbon dioxide concentrations have reached their highest point in at least two million years and have risen to almost record highs once more in the last year.
Zanzibar is taking measures to alleviate financial strain during the holy month of Ramadan by removing value-added tax (VAT) from imported sugar, aiming to enhance affordability.
President Hussein Ali Mwinyi has called on traders to refrain from unjustified price increases, emphasizing that there are no valid grounds for inflating food prices.
The scarcity of sugar has led to a surge in prices over the past three months in Tanzania and its semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, with authorities attributing the issue to low production.
While touring markets on Monday, President Mwinyi affirmed the government’s commitment to combat inflation. However, he highlighted that certain unscrupulous traders persist in artificially inflating prices, affecting locally produced staples such as cassava, fish, vegetables, and fruits.
He urged traders to cease unwarranted price hikes during Ramadan, acknowledging the hardship it imposes on the majority of the population, particularly the less privileged.
With Zanzibar’s predominantly Muslim populace, the upcoming month of Ramadan, characterized by fasting from dawn to sunset, underscores the significance of addressing economic concerns promptly.
Simai Mohamed Said went to a meeting with the party’s ethics committee on Tuesday, but he didn’t say why they wanted to talk to him.
“It’s okay to go to the party’s office, and I’m not the one who speaks at the meetings. You can talk to the chairperson or the secretary general of the committee,” said Mr. Said to reporters right after the meeting.
He quit his job as the tourism minister two weeks ago because he didn’t like the working conditions.
He quit because there isn’t enough alcohol in Tanzania, which is bad for tourism. Tanzania is a popular place for people to visit in Africa.
Beer prices have almost doubled because the supply chain got messed up when importers suddenly changed.
Before he quit his job, Mr. Said said that the Zanzibar Liquor Control Board (ZLCB) was not managing the liquor industry well.
Reports connect one of Mr. Said’s family members to a company that brings alcohol into the country, but the company’s permission to do so was not renewed.
There is not enough alcohol because a lot of tourists are coming to the Tanzanian islands.
Zanzibar’s Minister of Tourism and Heritage, Simai Mohamed Said, has resigned, citing “unfavourable and disruptive working conditions” in the Tanzanian archipelago.
“I have made this difficult decision, which is not easy in our culture. I will continue to be loyal to the government and my party, the Revolutionary Party.” – Simai Mohamed Said
Charles Hillary, the presidential spokesperson in the Tanzania’s semi-autonomous islands, has confirmed the minister’s resignation, according to local media.
His resignation comes a few days after he reportedly complained about a shortage of alcohol in Zanzibar, stating that it was affecting the tourism sector.
About 90% of Zanzibar’s economy depends on tourism.
Boxing fans in Zanzibar will finally be able to watch their first fight in almost sixty years on Sunday, as the ban on boxing has been lifted.
The 1960s ban happened after the island’s first President Abedi Amani Karume came to power and he mentioned cultural reasons for the ban.
The event supports President Hussein Mwinyi‘s efforts to boost tourism and enhance sports development.
In a special fight, Zanzibar’s Hamis Muay Thai will compete against Ibrahim Mjender for eight rounds. This fight is significant but does not involve any championship titles.
Hamis Muay Thai, who had a lot of success as a kick boxer, is starting his boxing career by having his first match in the ring.
Another boy named Musa Nassor, also known as “Banja,” is also scheduled to perform. He will fight Dullah Mbabe from the mainland, while Karim Mandonga, a popular Tanzanian boxer, will fight Osman Muller Junior from Zanzibar in another match.
There will be a total of eight boxing fights.
In 1964, the Sultan of Zanzibar and his Arab government were overthrown during a revolution. Some people who were close to President Karume at that time say that he believed boxing was cruel and thought only animals fought.
The ban did not impact mainland Tanzania.
Tanganyika and Zanzibar came together in April 1964 to create what we now know as the United Republic of Tanzania.
The findings from a six-month study in 2021 showed that a little more than 60% of the people in Zanzibar supported bringing back boxing.
Zanzibar wants to welcome more people from different countries to come and visit or invest in their place. The current President Mwinyi’s Blue Economy policy focuses on promoting tourism and sports.
Natasha Jones, a female boxer from Britain, was recently made an honorary ambassador for Zanzibar in sport tourism.
Jones, the champion boxer, said that he feels very proud and will try his hardest to do a good job representing the people of Zanzibar. He also wants to highlight and support all the great things that they already have.
All the boxers have received their fee for participating in the event, even though there won’t be any money given as a prize.
The important event will happen at the Mao Tse Tung Stadium on Sunday and will be shown on TV.
Halka Ahmed, a young person who creates content, stated that he is very happy and enthusiastic.
“This will be great for my friends who are young and really want to become professional boxers in Zanzibar. ”
A lot of people in Zanzibar are excited about the return of boxing.
“This is a groundbreaking action,” expressed Sandaland Omari, a store owner specializing in sports merchandise.
Authorities in Zanzibar are forcibly banning males from wearing their hair in braids, telling the BBC that doing so violates the law, local customs, and people’s morals.
“We find it dangerous to our future generations”, says Zanzibar’s Culture Executive Secretary Omar Adam. “This is one form of immorality in Zanzibar, it is a culture which is adopted from outside Zanzibar.”
He has allayed worries that the decision was made to specifically target the LGBTQ community on the islands, where same-sex relationships are forbidden.
Although the rule prohibiting males from braiding their hair dates back to 2015, it has only just begun to be enforced by the police.
Anyone with braided hair who enters or resides in Zanzibar faces a fine of more than $400, six months in jail, or both.
The officials claim that the enforcement will be applied equally to tourists even though Zanzibar is one of the most popular tourist destinations.
16 book titles and the usage of rainbow colors in classrooms were outlawed by the Zanzibari authorities two months ago under the pretext that they supported LGBTQ rights.
Zanzibar authorities have implemented a prohibition on men wearing braided hairstyles, stating that it violates both local customs and the law while posing a potential threat to societal morals.
This move aims to enforce adherence to traditional norms and uphold the cultural values of the region.
We find it dangerous to our future generations”, says Zanzibar’s Culture Executive Secretary Omar Adam. “This is one form of immorality in Zanzibar, it is a culture which is adopted from outside Zanzibar.”
Authorities have dismissed concerns that the recent enforcement of the ban on men wearing braided hairstyles in Zanzibar is specifically targeting the LGBTQ community. In Zanzibar, where same-sex relationships are illegal, the law against men braiding their hair has been in existence since 2015 but has only been actively enforced now.
Individuals, regardless of whether they are residents or visitors to Zanzibar, who are found with braided hair can face penalties such as fines exceeding $400 or up to six months of imprisonment, or both.
Despite being a popular tourist destination, the authorities emphasize that the enforcement of this ban will be applied uniformly.
It is worth noting that the Zanzibar government had recently banned 16 book titles and the use of rainbow colors in schools, citing that they promoted LGBTQ rights.
Indian authorities have recently entered into an agreement with Tanzania to establish a worldwide branch of the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Zanzibar.
This initiative marks the first international expansion of the IIT Madras campus.
The institute is scheduled to commence operations in October of this year, initially accommodating 50 graduate students and 20 Master’s students.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hailed this development as a momentous milestone.
The IIT, renowned for its academic excellence, boasts multiple campuses throughout India and is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading educational institutions.
After accruing repair bills of almost $1.5 million, the government of Zanzibar has sold a passenger-plus-cargo ship that has been undergoing repairs in Kenya to an unknown bidder for $230,000.
The archipelago’s Transport ministry said that the government had “decided not to continue with the repairs but to dispose of” MV Maendeleo, whose repairs were being done at a dry dockyard in Mombasa. The cumulative expenses had reached $1,554,551, according to the ministry.
The ship’s value had deteriorated from $500,000, according to government-hired evaluators, to $370,000.
In its heyday, MV Maendeleo used to ply the Dar es Salaam-Zanzibar-Pemba route. It could carry 600 passengers and 697 tonnes of cargo at a go.
Last May, the Zanzibar Shipping Corporation announced the sale of three vessels — MV Maendeleo, MV Ukombozi and MV Mapinduzi II — on an ‘as is, where is’ basis. The fate of the other two vessels is unknown.
State-owned shipping companies in the region have been struggling to sustain their fleets and face off competition from private operators.
A court has ordered the government of Zanzibar to pay a Thai company $69 million (about TSh159 billion) for rice bought in 1988.
If Zanzibar had settled the payment in time, it would have paid $12.9 million (about TSh30 billion) 37 years ago.
The Court of Appeal recently quashed a highly questionable ruling of the Registrar of the High Court of Zanzibar who had reduced the bill in 2017 to $5.7 million (about TSh13.1 billion).
Three justices of appeal, Stella Mugasha, Ignas Kitusi and Sam Rumanyika could not hide their displeasure over the three-decade delay in paying Laemthong Rice Co. Ltd, which supplied rice to the Zanzibar government.
“This matter does not speak very well of timely justice,” said the justices in their recent decision.
The Court of Appeal also rejected the government’s attempts to lower the amount and insisted they go by a December 2000 High Court order for the Zanzibar government to pay the rice supplier $69 million.
Aware of the case
Zanzibar Minister of State in the President’s Office responsible for Finance and Planning, Saada Salum Mkuya, admitted she was aware of the case but could not give the ministry’s position because she has not seen the judgment.
“I know about the issue but I have not seen that judgment, so I cannot say anything,” said the minister.
The transaction of what would later turn to be one of the longest delayed cases was made on July 23, 1985 when the Zanzibar government ordered for 39,900 tonnes of rice at $12.9 million, with a 25 percent annual interest.
According to court records, it took quite a long time for the Zanzibar government to fulfil its contractual obligation as it delayed to make full payment for the rice.
Left with no option, the Bangkok-based company sued the Zanzibar government in efforts to have the authorities settle the debt.
The reason the dispute dragged in courts for many years was because of the Zanzibar government’s refusal to pay the $69 million and wanted it reduced to $45.7 million.
There were also issues on how the execution should be carried out.
Zanzibar’s government is investigating why thousands of dead swimming crabs have washed up on the beaches of the Tanzanianislands.
Since 28 September, there have been reports of the dead crabs washing ashore at Mtoni, Mizingani and Forodhani public beaches.
The government is urging people not to worry it might be caused by pollution.
Reports indicate climate change leading to an abrupt change in the temperature of the sea might be to blame.
“Some living things like the swimming crabs cannot resist sudden changes in the sea, and they die and wash ashore,” Dr Salum Soud, a marine biologist and Zanzibar’s director of development and fisheries, told the BBC.
“Ocean waters have layers of temperatures and so the waves force water underneath to go up, thus may cause low oxygen hence the crabs are likely to face death,” he added.
The mass deaths of the crabs is not an isolated incident, according to Sheha Mjaja Juma, Director General of the Zanzibar Environment Management Authority (Zema), who told Tanzania’s The Citizen paper it had also happened in Seychelles.
The governmentof Zanzibar is probing why hundreds of dead swimming crabs have washed up on the beaches of Tanzania’s islands.
There have been reports of dead crabs washing ashore at Mtoni, Mizingani, and Forodhani public beaches since September 28.
The government is urging people not to worry it might be caused by pollution.
Reports indicate climate change leading to an abrupt change in the temperature of the sea might be to blame.
“Some living things like the swimming crabs cannot resist sudden changes in the sea, and they die and wash ashore,” Dr Salum Soud, a marine biologist and Zanzibar’s director of development and fisheries, told the BBC.
“Ocean waters have layers of temperatures and so the waves force water underneath to go up, thus may cause low oxygen hence the crabs are likely to face death,” he added.
The mass deaths of the crabs is not an isolated incident, according to Sheha Mjaja Juma, Director General of the Zanzibar Environment Management Authority (Zema), who told Tanzania’s The Citizen paper it had also happened in Seychelles.
