Tanzania protests after plane seized in Canada over land compensation dispute

Tanzania summoned Canada’s envoy to protest after an aircraft set to be delivered to state-owned Air Tanzania was impounded in a land compensation dispute, the East African country’s government said Saturday. The case relates to a lawsuit filed by a retired Tanzanian farmer who has claimed compensation over what he says was the expropriation of his land several decades ago. Foreign affairs minister Palamagamba Kabudi said the new aircraft, a DHC Dash 8-400 turboprop, was impounded in Canada this week after an individual filed a claim in court against the Tanzanian government. “I summoned Canada’s high commissioner yesterday and told her unequivocally ... that the Tanzanian government has been disappointed and angered by the move,” Tanzania’s foreign affairs minister Palamagamba Kabudi said. The minister said Tanzania had hired lawyers in Canada to defend it against the action, noting it was from the same individual who filed a lawsuit in a South African court claiming he was owed compensation by the government.<br/>