Membe: Dilunga reminds us why free press is crucial

Dar es Salaam. Former Foreign Affairs minister Bernard Membe has warned that suppression of press freedom and freedom of expression can only result in a weakened government and political parties.

Mr Membe insisted that the level of vibrance of any government as well as that of political parties depends very much on the contribution made by a free press.

He was speaking yesterday as the media fraternity bade farewell to Jamhuri Media Limited journalist Godfrey Dilunga at the Mnazi Mmoja grounds in the city.

Mr Dilunga, 43, worked with a number of media outlets in the country. He died of stomach problems on Tuesday, September 17. “As we pay our homage to Mr Dilunga today, his body of works should remind us the key role that the media plays in any society. The media is like fertilizer; when it is applied in plants, the plants flourish,” noted Mr Membe.

Speaking about Mr Dilunga’s demise, Mr Membe said: “We’ve really lost a great journalist, who was independent in his thinking and was fearless.”

In attendance at the event were media stakeholders, politicians, activists and those who worked with Dilunga during his life.

Information, Culture, Arts and Sports minister Harrison Mwakyembe said the country has lost a professional journalist.

Mr Dilunga, up until his death, was working as an editor for Jamhuri newspaper. He died at the Muhimbili National Hospital to where he was referred from the Mwananyamala Hospital on September 9.

Mr Dilunga was born in Morogoro in 1976. He joined Jamhuri Media Limited on February 1, 2019. Prior to that he worked with Raia Mwema newspaper.

Jamhuri Media Limited said the company has lost a great journalist, who specialized in investigative stories. Dilunga is survived by a wife and three children.