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After a Chinese contractor was awarded the massive project yesterday, construction of the Sh61 billion African Court in Tanzania on Human and People's Rights (AfCHPR) headquarters is finally set to begin.
CRJE (East Africa) Limited from China will carry out construction in the Laki Laki neighborhood on the outskirts of Arusha. It will take two years to finish the major civil works. Tanzania, the project's host country, has raised Sh9 billion of the project's overall Sh61 billion cost, according to AfCHPR authorities.
The Pan African Court President, Lady Justice Imani Aboud, was delighted with the transfer of the building site, and her staff members were also relieved. “We have been waiting for this for 16 years. We have been yearning for this”, she remarked at the location.
Former High Court of Tanzania Judge Lady Justice Aboud praised the Tanzanian government "for the generous support given to us" She referred to the multi-million dollar headquarters project as one of the biggest projects ever carried out by the legal facility situated in Arusha.
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She said that the more than 150 staff members of the African Union's judicial body would feel comfortable at the Court's new premises. “We are happy that the Tanzanian government has fulfilled its promise. We appreciate the host government for offering land”, " she continued.
The Court employs around 150 people, between 80 and 90 of whom are legal experts. The remaining staff members, most of whom are from Tanzania, are support employees.
The location of Court's intended headquarters is near the UN Tribunal, another prominent court that is now deliberating cases involving the Rwanda genocide accused. On the other hand, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) will soon be shutting down.