The East African
Wednesday December 23 2020
It is not necessary for every Tanzanian to speak or write English. But it so happens we are set up to operate our legal systems using this alien tongue. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
Summary
Most of us can make do with the basics of a language because we do not need to delve into its intricacies.
But for legal officers the language is the substance, be it French, Urdu or Ukrainian.
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Tanzania’s Chief Justice Ibrahim Hamis Juma has been reported complaining that legal practitioners in the country have a problem with the English language. I do not know why our head judge has chosen this moment in time to alert us to this issue, but to my knowledge this is a long-standing reality with which we have failed to deal with.