Picture this: A civil servant notices something disturbing about the boss at work. He is awarding contracts to himself through a company in the name of his brother-in-law. Being a person who wants fair play for all, the civil servant decides to report the matter to the relevant minister. Surprisingly, nothing happens and the poor man finds himself with all sorts of difficulties at work. The job gets tougher, the boss looks for the simlpest of excuses to shout at him, and finally after a few stressful months he earns himfels a suspension or outright dismissal.
It is disturbing to note that if such a person comes to the fore with information about the misconduct or illegal practices of his boss or an organisation, he or she may face the risk of anything from losing their job or even physical harm without any sort of 'shield' from the government.
In Tanzania, there are no legal provisions to protect those who who testify against others in judicial proceedings. Knowing you have no protection from the state makes it harder for one to volunteer to bring those involved in illegal activities to book.
Edson Makallo, Principal Investigation Officer of Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCB) was recently quoted recently by the Sunday Observer saying that their agency has experienced several instances whereby whistle blowers and witnesses for corruption cases fall victims of the information they have given relating to the commission of offences by suspects or offenders.
Why would you want to lose your job? Why would you want to face retaliation of any kind when what is important for you is to feed your family?
Whistle blower protection law helps those who have suffered retaliation like demotion, suspension or harassment seek justice by filing a charge or suing the person, company or organisation that committed the wrong-doing.
Hopefully, the government will realise this problem and move towards establishing legal procedures for protecting whistle blowers. Short of that, people will live by the words 'see no evil, hear no evil.'