The adage that Truth is the first victim in all wars can be traced back to ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus around 550 BC, Dr Samuel Johnson in 1758, US Senator Hiram Warren Johnson in 1918, or anyone else.
The statement is as relevant today as it was then and still holds truth in the context of the human rights abuse allegations in North Mara Gold Mine.
Its essence is not limited to wars; the truth has become the prey of even those who claim to be its liner defenders, like Mining Watch Canada, a Toronto-based organization.
If it weren’t for the Tanzania Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRGG), the world would have been fooled that there was a gross violation of human rights acquisition at the mine in 2021 and 2022.
Mining Watch Canada, which claims to be a watchdog of Canada’s mining industry, published a report in December 2023 titled Evicted for Gold Profits. The report alleges that people from the villages of Komarera and Kewanja in the Tarime district were subjected to forced eviction, claiming that the eviction process was unpredictable, coercive, intimidating, violent, and not in accordance with Tanzanian law.
This report, together with the Joint Communication from the Special Procedures Branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, triggered CHRGG to investigate allegations of human rights violations.
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At the press conference held in Dodoma on July 19th, 2024, the CHRGG Chairperson, Retired Judge Mathew Mwaimu, told members of the press that the investigation was conducted between April and May 2024.
The commission found that all villagers whose lands were obtained in Komarera village were compensated by the law, and no person was paid short of the said compensation.
Furthermore, in investigating the complaints from the residents of the villages of Komarera and Kewanja against the North Mara mine, CHRGG found that the North Mara mine acquired 652 acres of land in Komarera Village for the expansion of mining activities.
The valuation and acquisition process of the land followed procedures. It was conducted transparently with the involvement of all parties, and the residents whose land was taken were compensated appropriately, said retired Judge Mwaimu.
The Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance is an independent government department established in 2001 to promote and protect human rights and duties, as well as principles of good governance in Tanzania.
It is a constitutional creature. The Commission became operational on July 1, 2001, after the coming into force of the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance Act, No. 7 of 2001.
The Commission was officially inaugurated in March 2002. CHRAGG initially operated on the Tanzania mainland, but its mandate was extended to Zanzibar through The Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (Extension Act) No. 12 of 2003.
CHRAGG’s mandate is stipulated in the 1977 Constitution and founding legislation of the United Republic of Tanzania. Its core functions are to promote, protect and preserve human rights and principles of good governance in the country.
These core functions are discharged through public awareness-raising activities, including public meetings, seminars, and workshops about human rights and the principles of good governance.
It advises the government, other public organs and private entities on specific issues relating to human rights and principles of administrative justice.
With regard to its protection mandate, the Commission conducts investigations of complaints it receives from individuals or groups of people concerning violations of the aforesaid human rights and principles of good governance.
It also conducts inquiries and research on human rights and good governance and provides legal aid to the needy. In addition, it cooperates with national, regional, and international bodies competent in promoting and protecting human rights.
This report has come at a time when Tanzania’s mining sector is tarnished by the so-called international human rights activists publishing frivolous reports of human rights violations at the North Mara gold mine.
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It puts Tanzanian gold at the risk of being denied certification at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). LBMA is the pre-eminent standard-setting body for the global wholesale market for precious metals.
Its 150 members are based in over 30 countries, encompassing every part of the precious metals production journey. It aims to promote sound trading practices and sets objective criteria and standards for efficiently trading physical gold and silver bars in the wholesale market.
LBMA sets standards and ensures good governance across the precious metal industry. It works together with industry players to ensure that the bars that are being physically traded meet international standards.
The certifying body is now sued in London court in a case which claims it wrongly classified gold from a Tanzanian North Mara as responsibly sourced, despite allegations of human rights abuse.
During the meetings on relocation, valuation processes, and compensation, I happened to be around the said villages. The Mining Watch Canada report depicts a very different picture of reality on the ground, with heavens higher and farther from the Earth.
Unfortunately, international organizations publish these reports, and we, the people on the ground, get carried away with their accounts without taking the trouble to verify the truth.
The cost of lies is not that we’ll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, we will no longer recognize the truth. Once this happens, we close all the possible opportunities for our people to optimise economic gains through the mining value chain.
Our people, especially the residents of Tarime, when repeatedly told these lies, mainly as it is fueled by unscrupulous politicians who care more about their own interests than the public, the community ends up paying a very high price for these lies.
Firstly, it makes them feel weak and oppressed, leading them to spend a lot of time complaining or grumbling and engaging in negative actions instead of helping them see the opportunities available in the mining sector.
They should use these opportunities to build economic capacity so that even if mining activities end, they are left with a strong economy, enabling them to pursue other financial activities for their development.
As Tanzanians, we are responsible for safeguarding our truth for the benefit of this generation and those to come. Our very own Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, in his ever-relevant book, Tujisahihishe, warned us about the cost of ignoring the truth, as I quote;
Truth has a very good characteristic. It does not discriminate between the powerful or the weak, it does not care about enemies or friends, and everyone is the same to it.
Also, truth tends to retaliate if it is ignored. If you see me about to kick a stone, thinking it is a pebble or a ball, I hope you will warn me.
But if I ignore your warning because you are small or I don’t like you and kick it anyway, it will break my toe, no matter who I am. Truth does not like to be disregarded!
Let’s not step on toes by swallowing lies just because they are well-written and have been written by respectable institutions.
They are not the custodians of the truth; let’s probe, query, and investigate it. It’s only we and we alone who can shape our society and economy the way we wish it were. All other supporting hands are to be taken with great caution.
In this case, CHRGG has played a very key role in watching the so-called watchmen and has once again shown that truth doesn’t discriminate whether you are an international organization or a local actor; truth persists no matter what.