By 3 August 2026, Tanzania’s Drug Control and Enforcement Authority said it had destroyed 3,117.9 ekari of cannabis fields, about 1,262 hectares, and arrested 12 suspects.[1] The work was a 16-day operation in four villages of Kandawale and Kipatimo wards, in Kilwa district, Lindi region.[1]
Commissioner General Aretas Lyimo said the plantations were on land owned by villages and hamlets.[1] He said that, despite the government’s plan for how that land should be used, some residents were still growing cannabis on it.[1] Between 200 and 250 residents took part in the clearing each day.[1]
In Nandete village, Veronica Mandai and Nassoro Mbonde condemned the cultivation.[1] Mandai asked young people and women to refuse drugs, and said children were sometimes drawn into the farming without their parents knowing.[1] Kandawale ward executive officer Mohamed Mpame said leaders would patrol more often and urge people to grow cashew instead.[1]
The Respondents reported the same operation, the same 12 arrests and the same wards, from the authority’s account.[2] It described the area as 3,117.9 hectares.[2]
