Applicability of the general principles of criminal liability in prosecution of wildlife cases in Tanzania: a review of law and practice

Tanzania has recently experienced a notable interference in the management of wildlife resources; particularly, wild animals despite the existence of the law to manage the same. Persistent commission of offences against the wildlife law is partly a result of inbuilt weaknesses in the law itself. One of the characteristics of the law governing the management of wildlife resources is that, it is criminal in nature establishing strict criminal liability to almost every wrong against wildlife laws. The fact that contravenes the Constitutional right of the accused person to be presumed innocent until proved guilty.¹ The objective of this descriptive article is to examine the extent prosecution of wildlife cases abides by the general principles of criminal liability so as to ascertain the effectiveness of criminal sanctions in managing wildlife resources in Tanzania.