This archive report was first published on 23 November 2019.
Published on November 23, 2019, a Tanzanian government official revealed that a jet belonging to Air Tanzania had been impounded in Canada.
Foreign Affairs Minister Prof Palamagamba Kabudi stated that the plane was prevented from taking off due to a court case filed by South African farmer Hermanus Steyn, who is seeking compensation for his land seized by the government in the 1980s.
Prof Kabudi emphasized that the Tanzanian government had previously won the case in court, but Steyn had appealed and was now seeking to have the Canadian authorities impound the Bombardier Q400.
This is the second time an ATCL plane has been impounded over Steyn's case, with the first instance occurring in August when a South African court ordered the seizure of an Airbus 220-300 jet due to a $13 million compensation claim.
Prof Kabudi also mentioned that the Tanzanian government had recalled its envoy in Canada to explain the situation.
Notably, this is not the first time a Tanzanian government-owned aircraft has been impounded in Canada. In 2017, a Bombardier Q400 was held after the government failed to pay $38 million owed to a British firm, Stirling Civil Engineering Ltd, due to a contractual dispute.
