Establishment of National Military and National Legal Institutions

Establishment of National Military and National Legal Institutions

After independence, African governments established their own armed forces and police for the purpose of ensuring security. Tanzania established her own military force called Tanzania People’s Defense Forces on 1st September 1964. It comprised of four branches namely

1.     ) Land Forces Command

2.     ) Naval Command

3.     ) Air Force Command

4.     ) Military Intelligence

The Objectives of Establishing National Military and National Legal Institutions

Analyse the objectives of establishing national military and national legal institutions

Objectives of establishing national armed forces

·         To provide assistance during national emergencies

·         To participate in nation building activities

·         Promotion of internal security and integrity

·         To protect the country from external aggression

·         To detect and fighting off criminals

·         To ensure peace in the country

The Functions, Strengths and Weaknesses of National Military Forces and National Legal Institutions

Assess the functions, strengths and weaknesses of national military forces and national legal institutions

Functions of the national armed forces

·         To safeguard the national security of the country from external aggression. For exampleTanzania military force took part in the military campaign against the forces of Idd Amin ofUganda in 1978. Similarly to Kenyan military force took part in campaigns against the Shiftabandits from Somalia in the 1970’s.

·         To preserve internal security. For example Kenya in 1978 during the attempt coup d’etat whenKenya Army fought off some elements of the rebel Kenya Air Force who wanted to take over thegovernment using unlawful means.

·         To participate in nation-building activities for example road and bridge construction.

·         To provide assistance to the public during national emergencies. For example during floods,famine, fire outbreaks and other national disasters.

·         To detect and fight off criminals who use water masses like the Atlantic and Indian Ocean tocommit crimes. For example the Somali pirates, narcotic runners and gunrunners as well asillegal trawlers who steal fish and other marine resources from African states.

·         To participate in peace keeping missions in different parts of the world by participating in UnitedNational, African Union and Commonwealth peacekeeping duties.

Weaknesses of national military forces in Africa after independence

·         To abort coup attempts and overthrowing their governments

·         Corruption in the running of operations for example military officers from Zimbabwe wasaccused for having smuggled gold and other mineral resources during peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

·         Tribalism and sectionalism

·         Inadequate funds for soldiers payments

·         Indiscipline for example some soldiers have been accused of looting and raping civilians.

·         Lack of financial resources and modern military equipments

·         Dependence from developed countries for example some African countries depend onEuropean and USA countries in training and equipping their armies.

·         Low level of education the majority of the military personnel were not well educated in Africafor a long time due to the fact that military career was not taken as a prestigious occupation.

Strengths of national military forces in Africa after independence

·         A lot of military personnel in recent years have been enrolled in institutions for higher educationand have improved their image while relating with members of the public.

·         Safeguarding the national security of the country from external aggression.

·         Preserving internal security.

·         Participating in peace keeping missions within and outside the country.

·         Participating in nation-building activities

·         Assisting the public during national emergencies.

·         Detecting and fighting off criminals

National legal institutions

The national legal institutions include judiciary however; there is close coordination of different departments in the government in making sure that the law and order are preserved without denying anyone his or her rights in society. This can be witnessed through their different functions in the country. For example when the police force and the armed forces ensure preservation of national security and integrity the judiciary ensures the administration of justice through the court of law.

Objectives of the national legal institutions

·         To settle disputes among different parties

·         To guarantee rule of law for all citizens

·         Assisting in the law development

·         Constitution protection

·         Administering justice in the country

·         To swear in senior members of government like the prime ministers and presidents

Functions of the national legal institutions

·         They settle disputes among individuals and between the individuals and the state.

·         They administer justice through law interpretation

·         They spell out the penalties to be meted out to offenders and the amount to be compensatedto the offended part.

·         They ensure citizen’s protection under the law and to sentence accordingly those who violatethe rights and freedoms of others.

·         They protect the national constitution by ensuring that everything in the country is done withinthe constitutional provisions in each country

·         They safeguard national sovereignty through swearing in of senior members of government.

Strengths of the national legal institutions

·         They are based on equality and fairness of all the parties

·         Training of legal officers in different countries

·         They guarantee the justice for all the parties

·         The legal system is flexible and embraces some of the traditional methods of conflict resolution.For example Islamic courts are given rooms to handle cultural and religious matters in Africanlegal systems with a large population of Muslims.

Weaknesses of the national legal institutions

·         Some of them are corrupt for example in Kenya many magistrates and judges lost their jobs in2003 following allegations of corruption.

·         Incompetence of some judiciary officers who fail to prioritize important issues in the legalsystem and underfunding of the institutions

·         Interference of some senior members of the executive in the work of legal institution therebyundermining administration of justice in the state.

·         Illiteracy and ignorance of the citizens hampered the efficiency in the administration justice bylegal institutions.

·         Dependence on other government departments like armed force and police force as theycannot operate efficiently in the absence of support from these departments.

·         Lack of financial resources to hire enough officers to assist in the administration of judiciary.

·         Interference of cultural traditions in the operations of the legal institutions as some communityapplies cultural methods of administration of justice, some of which contradict the official legalinstitutions for example traditional forms of compensation or avenging crime among clans.

The police force

In Tanzania the national police force comprises the following departments or sections

·         The Regular

·         Firefighting Unit

·         Anti-Stock Theft Police

·         Traffic Police

·         Native Intelligence Services

Other sections include Criminal Investigation Unit, Game Reserve Unit, Field Force Unit, Anti-Narcotics Police, Police Air Wing, Flying Squad and the General Service Unit. In Kenya there are some similar departments like those found in Tanzania however their police comprise a unit known as the administration police, whose work is to assist officers in the provincial administration.

Objectives of establishing a national police force in African countries after independence

·         To ensure maintenance of law and order

·         To protect the law and preserve both life and property

·         To investigate crime and prosecute offenders

·         To arrest and detain suspected offenders

·         To assist the public especially during emergencies

·         To regulate traffic and punish offenders

Functions/responsibilities of the police force

·         Maintaining law and order by arresting and punishing the law breakers.

·         Safeguarding people’s life and properties

·         Detecting those about to commit the crime

·         Investigating the crime and prosecute the offenders

·         To confine suspected criminals in remand

·         Regulating tariffs and arrests the offenders by checking for defective vehicles on the roads inorder to safeguard life.

·         Provision of assistance during national emergencies

·         They take part in national projects like constructional activities of national infrastructures andfacilities.

·         Provision of entertainment in marking national days like Independence Day, Union Day inTanzania while in Kenya Jamuhuri Day and other national holidays.

·         They investigate and arrest international criminals such as terrorists, drug traffickers and thenotorious Somali pirates who harass water vessels playing the Indian Ocean.

Challenges/weaknesses facing the national police forces in Africa

·         Lack of efficient transport and communication equipment for discharging their dutiesefficiently.

·         They have been accused of being involved in corrupt practices for example demanding fromthe public and failing to do their duties according to the law.

·         Recruitment of people with law academic qualifications in the force

·         Interference with police work by politicians and senior servants

·         The influx of small armies in the continent as a result some of the criminals posses moresophisticated weapons than the national police.

·         Poor relationship between the police officers and the citizens due to the use of harsh methodsby the police officers in their work to the citizens/public as a result public fear to pass usefulinformation to the police.

·         Terrorist disturbances to the police force for example in 1998 both the American Embassies inTanzania and Kenya was bombed by terrorists. Moreover, Uganda suffered a terroristsbombing attack in July 2010.

·         Cyber crimes resulted from modernization of information technology whereby some criminalsuse the internet to steal from banks and from innocent people not only that but also the use ofcell phones to defraud innocent members of the public.