Court dismisses bid by two police officers to challenge termination

DODOMA: TWO police officers, Constable David Mwashambwa and Constable Haji Msira, have lost their legal battle to challenge their dismissal from the Police Force, following a High Court decision in Dodoma.

The court dismissed their application for extension of time to seek leave for judicial review of their termination, labelling the request as an abuse of the judicial process.

“It is my considered position that this application for extension of time is nothing but an abuse of the court process,” ruled Judge Abdi Kagomba, in a judgment delivered recently.

The officers, dismissed alongside two colleagues on June 11, 2016, had earlier appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on June 14, 2016, citing weaknesses in the prosecution evidence used against them.

Judge Kagomba pointed out that the officers were clearly aware of the proceedings and decision, as evidenced by the detailed quotations in their initial appeal.

“It is my finding that the applicants were timely supplied with the charge, decision and proceedings. Their detailed appeal to the IGP confirms this,” he ruled.

ALSO READ: Court mediates labour dispute involving foreign worker

He also noted that the officers only formally requested the documents on October 30, 2020, more than four years after their dismissal and over three years after the IGP’s ruling on March 6, 2017—a delay the court found unjustifiable.

During the hearing, counsel for the officers argued that his clients had not been provided with the charges or disciplinary proceedings post-dismissal and had followed up until 2024 without success.

In 2024, the officers were granted an extension of time to apply for a mandamus order to compel the IGP to provide the documents.

Upon receiving the documents on April 28, 2025, they withdrew that application.

Two days later, they filed a new application seeking to challenge their termination through judicial review—an application the High Court has now rejected