A Dissertation Submitted in Partial/Fulfillment of the Requirements for Award
of the Degree of Master of Public Administration of Mzumbe University Dar es
Salaam College.
Rule of Law is a vehicle for expressing the people’s preferences about essential
political issues. It relates to the substance of the relationship between citizen and
government, also it deals with process through which that relationship is conducted.
The purpose of the study was to examine the applicability and the practice of Rule of
Law in Zanzibar, Case of Shehia Administration. The specific objectives of this study
were to find out to what extent the rule of law is practiced at shehia administration
level, to determine if legislations provide any gap to shehas to abuse rule of law in
Zanzibar, and to examine problems that face citizens when they need services at shehas.
The research approach used in the study was the case study design. The sample size of
the study was 50 respondents, 12 were residents of Shehia of Mtoni Kidatu, 10 from
Shehia of Mtoni, 5 were staff at Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance
(CHRAGG), 5 from Zanzibar Election Commission (ZEC), 5 from Social Welfare
Department, 4 from Zanzibar Legal Service Center (ZSLC), 4 from Association of
Peoples with Disability (UWZ) and 4 staff from Women and Children Department. The
methodology used was in depth interview and documentary review and data was
analyzed using qualitative and quantitative models
The study findings revealed that there is abuse of Rule of Law to great extent,
legislations provide so many gaps for Shehas to abuse laws and citizens face many
problems such as denial of basic rights, poor services, corruption, and high fees for
services delivered by Shehas just to mention a few. On the basis of these results, the
study findings recommend that in order to improve rule of law at Shehia
Administration, Shehas and citizens must be educated about good governance and
human rights, build offices for Shehas, harmonization of laws, have in place proper job
description and scheme of services for Shehas and increase budget for Shehas offices.