BY DAVID CHIKOKO
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has appointed two Tanzanian judges serving in Arusha-based regional courts to the Court of Appeal of Tanzania.
The two are Justice Imani Daud Aboud of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) and Justice Yohane Bokobora Masara, Principal Judge of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).
Their appointment forms part of a wider elevation of nine judges to the Court of Appeal, Tanzania’s highest appellate court. The newly appointed justices were sworn-in by President Samia at State House in Dar es Salaam recently. The two were also serving as senior Tanzania High Court judges.
Justice Imani is one of Tanzania’s most prominent jurists in the regional and continental human rights system. She was first elected as an AfCHPR Judge in July 2018 and later re-elected for a second and final term. She served as President of the court from 2021 to 2025, during which the court continued to handle major human rights matters from across the continent.
Justice Masara has also built a strong regional and public law profile. He was appointed to the EACJ First Instance Division in February 2021 and designated Principal Judge of the Court, after having served as a Judge of the High Court of Tanzania from January 2019.
He has also held senior legal and advisory roles in public service, including in the Office of the Attorney General (AG) and the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), with further experience in regional integration work with SADC and regional and international negotiations.
