Strengthening Legal Responses to Wildlife Crimes in Tanzania: Comprehensive Insights from Uganda

Wildlife crimes remain a profound threat to biodiversity, ecological stability, and rule of law across East Africa. Despite Tanzanian comprehensive statutory framework anchored in the Wildlife Conservation Act [Cap.283, R.E.2023], the Economic and Organized Crime Control Act [Cap.200, R.E.2023], persistent enforcement lacunae, fragmented institutional powers, and weak prosecutorial coordination continue to limit the effectiveness of her legal responses. This paper uses the doctrinal and comparative legal methodologies through examining primary statutes, precedents, policy documents, and scholarly commentaries to assess the adequacy of Tanzanian regime. By drawing comprehensive insights from Uganda, especially the reforms introduced through her specialized Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court (SUWC), the paper interrogates how judicial specialization, harmonized enforcement regimes, and clarity of prosecutorial roles strengthen wildlife offences’ adjudication. The paper contributes to legal scholarship by recommending a reform agenda that aligns Tanzanian wildlife governance with international obligations and contemporary theories of deterrence as well as environmental justice.

Wildlife Crime, Tanzania, Uganda, comparative law

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