In November 2019 the then President of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency the late John Pombe Magufuli, un-procedurally removed from office the then Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Professor Mussa Assad, for reasons best known to him. It should be noted that CAG’s office has been established by the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977 as amended (URT Constitution), and that whoever shall be appointed to that office his/her security of tenure has been guaranteed under Article 114 of the URT Constitution and section 6(2) of the Public Audit Act No 11 of 2008. One among several guarantees of security of tenure for CAG’s office is that whoever has been appointed under that office shall not be removed from office before the retirement age 65 years.

Professor Mussa Assad was born on 6th October 1961. Therefore, in November 2019 when he was removed from office he had not attained the retirement age and as such he was un-procedurally removed from office.

In a move to challenge that constitutional violation, Hon. Zitto Zuberi Kabwe filed a constitutional petition before the High Court of Tanzania (sitting as a constitutional court). This case being a strategic case, Center for Strategic Litigation commissioned a counsel to watch the trial brief. The case has gone through many legal hurdles but it is still pending before the High Court of Tanzania for determination.