RC Makonda ‘threatened Clouds staff’

Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda threatened Clouds Media Group (CMG) staff with blackmail and jail when he stormed the private broadcaster’s premises last week, the committee that investigated the incident said yesterday.

Presenting the five-member committee’s report in Dar es Salaam, the team’s secretary, Mr Deodatus Balile, said Mr Makonda threatened to link producers, presenters and sponsors of CMG television channel’s popular Shilawadu chat show with drugs if they would not air what he described as his “programme”.

Mr Makonda, who entered the CMG building with several armed police officers in tow, also said he could have the workers jailed for six months without being taken to court.

Mr Balile said the threats and presence of police officers brandishing automatic weapons caused the CMG staffers who were present, most of who were young men and women, to panic, with some bursting into tears.

The ensuing pandemonium led to the day’s Shilawadu programme that was being broadcast live to be cut short and a news bulletin aired instead.

Mr Makonda told the cowering CMG employees that they would be dealt with ruthlessly if his one-hour “visit” was made public.

“That is why the incident which happened on Friday evening only came to light on Sunday...they were scared of revealing what had happened in the studios for fear of retribution,” Mr Balile said. He added that there was no evidence Mr Makonda or the police officers who escorted him assaulted CMG staff, who were, however, traumatised by the incident.

The committee was unable to get Mr Makonda’s side of the story.

“We called him several times, but our calls were not answered. We then decided to go to his office and were told to wait for him when we arrived, but we later learnt that he sneaked out through the back door,” Mr Balile said.

The committee noted that its failure to interview the regional commissioner did not in any way lessen the gravity of what happened.

The committee said staffers’ accounts of the incident and CCTV footage proved that Mr Makonda forced his way into CMG premises at around 10.30pm.

The team also established that Mr Makonda was a frequent visitor to CMG offices, but Friday’s “visit” was different in that he was accompanied by heavily armed police officers and was visibly furious.

The committee also sought to establish whether Mr Makonda had a close working relationship with CMG and concluded that it was not the first time the regional commissioner had entered CMG studios.

“In fact, on March 14, 2017 the RC worked with CMG staff until 4am preparing a special programme commemorating his first year in office,” Mr Balile said.

The committee has come up with a number of recommendations, including asking that Mr Makonda acknowledge that what he did was wrong and apologise to CMG and all media stakeholders for undermining press freedom.

“We also ask the minister (of Information) to forward these findings to the appointing authority so that appropriate measures can be taken,” Mr Balile said.

“Security agencies should also investigate the police officers who participated in the raid and take appropriate measures against them.”

The committee also advised CMG’s management to review its editorial policy and stop unauthorised personnel from freely accessing the firm’s studios and having a say on radio and television content.

Receiving the report, the Minister of Information, Arts, Culture and Sports, Mr Nape Nnauye, commended the committee for delivering despite working in a difficult environment.

“You have done well. I know there was a lot of confusion and uncertainty surrounding this work,” he said.

He said he would forward the report to his superiors, namely President John Magufuli, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa.

Mr Nnauye appointed the committee on Monday and gave it 24 hours to submit its report. However, the team could not present its report on Tuesday as anticipated due to various reasons.

The committee was chaired by the Tanzania Information Services directors, Dr Hassan Abbas.

President Magufuli on Monday rejected calls for Mr Makonda to be sacked.

Speaking during a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the Ubungo interchange in Dar es Salaam, President Magufuli said he would not cave in to pressure and sack the controversial regional commissioner.

He asked Mr Makonda to ignore what was being said about him on social media and continue to serve Dar es Salaam residents. Dr Magufuli said he would not be influenced by “social media chatter” with regard to his appointees.

“I believe in my abilities and don’t need anyone to make decisions on my behalf…I encourage you (Mr Makonda) to keep working hard and not be distracted by what they are saying on social media.”

President Magufuli also urged Tanzanians not to pay attention to “gossip” on social media.

“Don’t pay attention to gossip being circulated on social media...you should focus on development issues because there is no partisanship when it comes to development,” he said.