At a Carrefour Between Recognition and Rejection: A Critical Review of the Asylum-Seeking Process in Tanzania

Every refugee phenomenon starts with persons seeking asylum. Without such persons, refugee status or refugee legal framework would not exist. Despite being at the epicentre of the refugee regime itself, asylum seekers remain the most vulnerable, living in uncertain circumstances and their protection in the legal and policy framework of individual countries remains highly understudied. Most pieces of literature focus more on refugee protection and pay less attention to asylum seekers. Through qualitative methods of data collection, this article makes a thorough review of the asylum-seeking process in Tanzania and the extent to which asylum seekers are protected. Though the asylum process is codified under the law, this article establishes that there is a disparity between the law and practice, resulting in inadequate protection of asylum seekers. It, therefore, proposes an immediate amendment to the Tanzanian refugee regime to enhance the protection of asylum seekers.