{"id":32941,"date":"2017-04-13T10:03:51","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T08:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/32941-freedom-of-expression-under-threat-in-tanzania.html"},"modified":"2017-04-13T10:03:51","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T08:03:51","slug":"freedom-of-expression-under-threat-in-tanzania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/32941-freedom-of-expression-under-threat-in-tanzania.html","title":{"rendered":"Freedom of opinion and expression under threat in Tanzania"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is Tanzania still the \u201cpeaceful and stable country\u201d that its residents and visitors say it is? Since the start of this year, more and more people, including from within the ranks of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (Party of the Revolution in Swahili) are denouncing attacks on people critical of President John Magufuli, elected at the end of 2015.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The last straw was the abduction on the evening of April 5 in Dar es Salaam of a well-known rapper, famous for his lyrics criticizing the government. Singer Ibrahim Mussa and his three companions were taken by unidentified armed men, and only reappeared three\u00a0days later, showing signs of beating and torture. The musician, known to the public under the name Roma Mkatoliki, recounted his ordeal at a press conference on April 10 in his country\u2019s commercial capital. He said that during their captivity, he and his companions had been tortured, blindfolded, with arms and legs tied, before being released into the bush. The artist added that they had been subjected to long interrogation, the content of which he is not disclosing for the moment, in line with an order from the police. \u201cWe are not safe,\u201d he said before the cameras of the national and international press. \u201cOur security is not guaranteed. Anything could happen at any moment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attacks on the press<\/h3>\n

The singer\u2019s abduction took place as the country was just recovering from the shock caused by Dar es Salaam governor John Makonda\u2019s violent intrusion into the studios of Clouds FM, one of the main private radio and TV stations of city. The young governor entered Clouds FM on the night of March 17 demanding the broadcast of a video accusing a renowned Dar es Salaam pastor with whom he is in dispute of adultery. The young governor, accompanied by armed men, threatened employees that he would throw them in jail if they did not obey. But they refused, citing journalistic ethics.<\/p>\n

To general surprise, President Magufuli expressed public support for the governor, although there was an avalanche of protests from all sides, including the ranks of the ruling party. Even worse, Information Minister Nape Nnauye, the first top official to publicly criticize governor Makonda\u2019s behaviour, was dismissed from the government less than a week later.<\/p>\n

Opposition leader disappears<\/h3>\n

The aggression against Clouds FM staff and abduction of rapper Roma Mkatoliki have revived debate about last November\u2019s disappearance of Ben Saanane, assistant to parliamentary opposition leader Freeman Mbowe. \u00a0During a meeting in his electoral fief of Mtama in the south of the country, Nape Nnauye, who has kept his seat as an MP, called for an independent inquiry on these attacks and abductions \u201cwhich are a new phenomenon in Tanzania\u201d. \u201cThese criminal acts will only set the people against the Chama Cha Mapinduzi and the President of the Republic,\u201d said Nnauye, predicting difficulties for his party in the next elections \u201cif all the people responsible for these abductions are not identified and punished\u201d.<\/p>\n

As might have been expected, the issue came up again when parliament reconvened on April 10. MP Hussein Bashe, who is also a member of the ruling party, claimed he had information that there was a group within the Tanzania intelligence and security service responsible for these abductions and disappearances of undesirable people. \u201cParliament and government can no longer close their eyes while citizens are abducted by unknown agents,\u201d he said, requesting that Parliament suspend its initial agenda to discuss this \u201cpressing\u201d issue. He was immediately supported by opposition MP Joseph Mbilinyi who also called for Interior Minister Mwigulu Nchemba\u2019s resignation, but the request was rejected by parliamentary vice-president Ackson Tulia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWrong to keep quiet\u201d<\/h3>\n

But the issue returned the next day when Zitto Kabwe, leader of the Alliance for Change and Transparency, claimed that opposition figure Ben Saanane had been carried off by members of the intelligence services. Zitto Kabwe, a young MP respected by his colleagues, added that the armed men who accompanied governor Makonda in his nighttime intrusion at Clouds FM were members of President Magufuli\u2019s security service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese acts may be the work of individuals whose aim is to tarnish the government,\u201d Interior Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said in an interview with the Mwananchi newspaper. But that does not satisfy MP Ridhiwani Kikwete, son of former president Jakaya Kikwete. \u201cMr. Mwigulu Nchemba, you are wrong to keep quiet when the people are crying out,\u201d Ridhiwani Kikwete said in parliament on April 11.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting the country to shame\u201d<\/h3>\n

The same day, the national Human Rights Commission, set up by the government, also broke its silence. \u201cIt is shocking and it puts the country to shame that these abduction cases are increasing whilst the government has not caught the perpetrators and brought them to justice,\u201d says a commission press release in Swahili. \u00a0In addition to the cases of Ben Saanane, Roma Mkatoliki and his companions, the commission also cites the case of Deutsche Welle correspondent Salma Saidi, who was abducted in Dar es Salaam in March 2016, reappearing later with marks of torture. According to the commission, preliminary investigations found that all these people were targeted because they exercised freedom of opinion and expression.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of March, Tanzanian civil society organizations launched a campaign calling on the security forces and the government to guarantee respect for freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. These organizations, led by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC \u2013 main Tanzanian human rights NGO), deplore what they say are many violations of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly since John Magufuli took office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is Tanzania still the \u201cpeaceful and stable country\u201d that its residents and visitors say it is? Since the start of this year, more and more people, including from within the ranks of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (Party of the Revolution in Swahili) are denouncing attacks on people critical of President John Magufuli, elected at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":64319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"ji_location":[2505],"class_list":["post-32941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-truth-commissions","ji_location-tanzania"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFreedom of opinion and expression under threat in Tanzania - JusticeInfo.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/32941-freedom-of-expression-under-threat-in-tanzania.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freedom of opinion and expression under threat in Tanzania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is Tanzania still the \u201cpeaceful and stable country\u201d that its residents and visitors say it is? 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