Less than perfect state of press freedom in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania marks World Press Freedom Day today amid growing feelings of uncertainty over the road ahead, after the fifth phase government sent mixed signals on its commitment to creating a just, internationally acceptable media landscape.

With the goings-on of the past two years, it is still fair to say that the government, which has partly presided over the country’s 12-place slide in the latest global press freedom rankings, has had a less than perfect relationship with the media.

Reasons for the drop in the latest Reporters Without Borders rankings range from harassment of journalists to closure of media houses.

Tanzania also recently enacted media laws that have generally been condemned by the international community as hostile toward the press.

One of the pieces of legislation, the Cybercrime Act, introduced in 2015, allows for a minimum jail term of three months for publishing false, deceptive or misleading information on a computer system.

The law was introduced despite complaints by politicians, social media experts and human rights activists that it gave the police “too much power” without adequate oversight.

Despite the generally bleak outlook for press freedom under the new administration in Tanzania it bears repeating that the fourth phase government under then-President Jakaya Kikwete, also left behind a mixed, if not flimsy, legacy for press freedom and access to information.

Political analysts and human rights activists criticised Mr Kikwete’s administration for failing to get rid of draconian laws, notably the 1976 Newspaper Act and the enactment of the cybercrime law.

Not only that. Media stakeholders were also critical of President Kikwete’s government for its failure to protect journalists. During the second term of his presiddency, some journalists lost their lives in controversial circumstances; others were attacked while many were threatened.

The darkest chapter for the press during the fourth phase government was the killing of Channel 10 cameraman Daudi Mwangosi, who was hit by a tear gas canister while covering demonstrations by the opposition Chadema in 2012.

And a few months later in 2013, Issa Ngumba, a radio presenter, was found dead with his body riddled with gunshot wounds in a forest.

In addition to these two tragedies, the US-based the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) noted that there were eight other “serious anti-press attacks and threats” between September 2012 and August 2013 in Tanzania.

Notable successes

However, there were some notable successes too, including strengthening freedom of expression. Private owned media and other platforms relatively enjoyed practising freedom of expression.

And when President John Magufuli came into power at the end of 2015, there was hope that with his crusade against corruption and excesses in government, he would reach out to the media considering its role in championing accountability and integrity.

Media practitioners in the country banked their hopes on the new President to refuse putting his signature on the controversial Media Services Bill. But he did last November, even as pressure piled up on him to throw it out because of provisions that were mainly seen as an institutional efforts to silence dissent or the press.

The Media Services Act of 2016, which parades provisions for professionalism in the media industry, gives the government powers to shut down media organisations that violate their licences by confiscating printing machines. The government defended it.

“At times, I found it illogical when some people said they found no difference between this Bill and the Newspaper Act of 1976. This is not true unless we are playing politics,” Mr Nape Nnauye, the former Information minister, was quoted as saying. Equally worrying were remarks by Dr Magufuli, who took a swipe at newspapers deemed to incite dissent.

His comments early this year added to opposition concern that the government was further narrowing the space for public criticism.

“We will not allow Tanzania to be a dumpyard for inciting (newspaper) content. This will not happen under my administration,” President Magufuli told a rally in Shinyanga.

Last month, the President warned that press freedom has limits as he swore in new Information minister Harrison Mwakyembe to replace Mr Nnauye, who was fired a day after he submitted a report on a raid on a private television station by a senior government official.

“I would like to tell media owners - be careful, watch it. If you think you have that kind of freedom, (it is) not to that extent,” Dr Magufuli said.

In its latest report, Reporters Without Borders painted a gloomy picture of the press freedom situation in the country.

It noted: “Abuses against journalists and media outlets – including suspensions and closures, threats, attacks, and arrests – are frequent, especially during elections. The climate has not improved since John Magufuli’s election as president in 2015.”

The report cited the arrest of the founder of the country’s most popular website for whistle-blowers, JamiiForums, saying he was being prosecuted for allegedly refusing to reveal the identity of contributors who helped to reveal cases of corruption involving major privately-owned companies that support the government. It raised concern over the targeting of online information, which is freer.

Law is not respected

“President Magufuli says he wants to combat corruption and establish the rule of law, but that cannot happen if the law is not respected,” noted Reporters Without Borders.

“This kind of arbitrary attitude runs totally counter to the rule of law. We call on the Tanzanian authorities to end the repeated attacks on the media and to respect freedom of information.”

Tanzania 83 in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index. The country slipped 12 places from number 71 out of 180 countries in the 2016 report.

But last year, the government dismissed the report saying Tanzania fared much better compared to many other countries in the East African region and beyond.