BY KUSEKWA KUSEKWA
Former Teacher and Security Guard with Jaerim Primary School, owned by the Registered Trustees of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church of Tanzania, Baraka Chinganga, has lost the labour dispute in which he had sought to challenge the termination of his employment.
That followed a decision of the High Court, Arusha Sub-Registry, that dismissed his case after upholding the ruling given by the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA) regarding the matter.
Judge Frank Mahimbali found that the complaint by Baraka, before the CMA was filed outside the statutory period prescribed under Rule 10(1) and (2) of the Labour Institutions (Mediation and Arbitration) Rules.
“In the absence of condonation, (voluntary forgiveness) the CMA was justified in declining to entertain the complaint. Accordingly, the application for revision is hereby dismissed in its entirety entirety for want of merit,” Judge Mahimbali declared.
He added: “The decision of the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration for Arusha delivered on June 30, 2026, is hereby upheld.”
The CMA refused to proceed with hearing the dispute on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction as it was lodged outside the prescribed time as per labour laws.
According to the evidence, Chinganga’s employment ended on November 29, 2024, whereas his case was filed on March 27, 2025. An employment termination dispute in Mainland Tanzania must be filed within 30 days from the day of dismissal and within 14 days in the case of Zanzibar.
The applicant was initially employed by the Church as a Teacher under a written fixed term contract, renewable annually, commencing on August 7, 2020. During the course of his employment, the applicant also worked as a security guard at the Church’s school.
Among the reliefs he had sought included a declaration for unfair termination; payment of salary arrears for the period between 2016 and 2024 in respect of his employment as both a teacher and a security guard.
He had also pushed for severance pay; one month’s salary in lieu of notice; subsistence allowance from the date of termination until repatriation to his home village; unpaid statutory leave; general damages for loss of employment and reputation, as well as alleged unlawful detention by the employer.
