CONSTITUTION and Legal Affairs Minister, Dr. Damas Ndumbaro, has said that the Mama Samia Legal Aid Campaign (MSLAC) has reached 2,698,908 Tanzanians, offering legal education and services. It has also addressed 24,691 long-standing disputes, some dating back over a decade, with several cases now in various stages of resolution.

Presenting the ministry’s 2025/26 budget estimates in the National Assembly yesterday, Dr. Ndumbaro said the campaign has benefited 1,347,325 men and 1,351,583 women since its launch on April 27, 2023.

He said the campaign has so far covered 25 regions in Tanzania Mainland. The only remaining region, Dar es Salaam, will be reached next month. In Zanzibar, the campaign has been implemented in North Pemba, Urban West, and North Unguja regions, with South Pemba and South Unguja scheduled for this month.

Services provided through the campaign include legal education on rights and responsibilities, land ownership and dispute resolution, child support, labour disputes, gender-based violence, inheritance, marriage and family issues, civil registration and human rights.

Dr. Ndumbaro noted that by April 2025, legal and governance education content from the campaign had been viewed over 43 million times (43,035,493), crediting the media for raising public awareness and supporting the outreach. He added that resolving these legal disputes has promoted peace and harmony among communities.

"The disputes handled include land, child custody, early marriages, domestic violence, criminal matters and labour disputes. Out of 23,399 long-standing cases received, 5,704 have been resolved through alternative dispute resolution while 18,987 are still in progress at various levels," he said.

To strengthen coordination of legal aid at local levels, the ministry has established legal aid desks in 184 local government authorities.Dr. Ndumbaro also announced the completion of a draft National Criminal Justice Policy and its implementation strategy.

"The draft outlines how to address systemic challenges in the criminal justice system based on recommendations from the Commission on Criminal Justice Reform," he said. The policy aims to establish an integrated and effective approach to criminal justice nationwide.