Hassan Magulumali
The Chairperson of Tanzania’s Commission of Inquiry into Perpetrators of Violence and Law Violations During and After the October 2025 General Election, retired Court of Appeal Judge Shaban Ally Lila, has said the commission he leads has a fundamentally different mandate from an earlier presidential commission chaired by retired Judge Othman Chande.
Speaking to journalists on August 24, 2026, Justice Lila explained that while the previous commission focused primarily on investigating the incidents of violence, unrest and breaches of peace that occurred during and after the October 2025 General Election, the new commission has been tasked with identifying the individuals and groups responsible.
According to Justice Lila, the commission will go beyond examining what happened by investigating who planned, coordinated, financed and carried out the acts of violence.
The commission will also examine the consequences of the violence, including cases involving injuries and deaths, in an effort to establish responsibility for the harm caused.
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“We have been given the responsibility of looking at who the perpetrators were — those who planned, coordinated, financed and carried out these acts,” Justice Lila said.
He added that the inquiry would also investigate the nature and level of force used to contain the unrest, with the aim of determining whether the measures taken complied with existing laws and established procedures.
The commission will examine cases involving people who were injured or killed during the violence and assess responsibility for those incidents.
“Human life cannot be compared with anything else,” Justice Lila said, emphasizing the importance of establishing accountability for deaths and injuries linked to the unrest.
The commission, widely referred to as the Lila Commission, was established by President Samia Suluhu Hassan and officially launched on August 7, 2026.
Its mandate is to investigate those responsible for violence and violations of the law connected to events that occurred during and after Tanzania’s October 2025 General Election.
The commission is chaired by Justice Shaban Ally Lila and includes retired judges as well as judges from outside Tanzania.
It has been given 150 days to complete its investigations and submit its findings, making the inquiry a significant part of efforts to establish accountability for the violence and legal violations associated with the 2025 election period.
