Disruption of Terrorist Financing in Tanzania: An Analysis of the Legal and Human Rights Framework

Abstract

The terrorist incidents that occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s in different parts of the world brought a wakeup call to the law enforcement agencies, the intelligence community and the citizens at large on the threats that are apparent to the global peace and security. The major terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by terrorist groups like the Al Qaida and Al Shabab. Terrorism poses threats and imminent danger to the mankind globally and terrorist acts violate human rights. Some people suffer consequences through spill over effects of the attacks. In Tanzania, the August 7, 1998 terrorist attack where two massive bombs exploded simultaneously outside of the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, killing 224 people and injuring 5,000, proved that the country wasnot free from terrorism. It is in this understanding that Tanzania, in a bid to heed an international call to all states to have counterterrorism measures has, in 2002,enacted the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Act contains provisions on disruption of terrorist financing. It is on this note that this paper analyses the legal and human rights framework on prevention of terrorism generally and disruption of terrorist financing in Tanzania in particular. The research whose methodology was secondary method of data collection, has found that those provisions are effective and human rights compliant.