Kigoma. The High Court in Kigoma Sub-Registry has granted leave for a judicial review challenge against President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s decision to appoint the chairperson and commissioners of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into criminal matters linked to electoral violence during and after the 2025 General Election.
The ruling was delivered on Monday, June 8, 2026, by Justice Rwizile.
The case arises from an application for leave to institute judicial review proceedings seeking to contest the President’s decision to appoint the chairperson and members of what is commonly referred to as the Lila Commission, currently before the High Court Sub-Registry in Kigoma.
The application was filed by activists Buberwa Kaiza and Joseph Mabugo against the Attorney-General, the chairperson of the commission, Court of Appeal judge Shaban Ally Lila, and three commissioners.
The commissioners, all retired High Court judges, are Gad John Mjemmas, Awadh Mohamed Bawazir, and Aishieli Nelson Sumari.
The commission was announced by President Hassan on May 18, 2026, following the report of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into breaches of peace during and after the October 29, 2025, General Election, chaired by retired Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman.
The applicants sought leave to file judicial review proceedings, asking the court to quash the President’s decision appointing the commissioners and to restrain her from taking similar actions, arguing that she lacked legal authority to do so.
During the hearing, lawyers Mpale Mpoki and Hekima Mwasipu submitted that the applicants had met the three legal thresholds for leave: an arguable case, sufficient interest, and filing within six months of the contested decision.
The court noted that the only disputed issue was whether an arguable case had been established, prompting detailed legal arguments from both sides.
A panel of six state attorneys opposed the application, arguing that the applicants had failed to demonstrate an arguable issue.
Two lawyers for the applicants maintained that such an issue clearly existed.
In his ruling, Justice Rwizile agreed that the applicants had satisfied the uncontested requirements, noting that the application was filed within seven days of the decision and that the applicants had sufficient interest in the matter as citizens affected by electoral violence.
On the contentious issue, the judge noted that Section 20 of the Commission of Inquiry Act requires that a commission be published in the Government Gazette before it can commence operations.
He further observed that no evidence was presented showing that the Judge Lila Commission had been gazetted, as required by law.
However, he said both sides acknowledged the commission’s formation and appointments, with disagreement centring on its legal validity in the absence of gazettement.
Justice Rwizile held that, based on the applicants’ affidavit and supporting documents, there was a substantial question as to whether the President had legal authority to establish the commission in the manner challenged.
He said this raised an arguable issue that warranted determination by the court.
“I am satisfied that the application meets all requirements and an arguable issue has been established,” he ruled.
The court therefore granted leave, allowing the applicants to file a substantive judicial review application within 14 days.
The respondents were represented by a team of government lawyers led by Senior State Attorney Mark Mulwambo, assisted by Senior State Attorney Vivian Method and Senior State Attorney Stanley Kalokola, alongside Senior State Attorneys George Kalenda and Edwin Webiro, and State Attorney Erigh Rumisha.
