Tanzania / Africa

  

CPJ calls on Tanzania’s Magufuli to drop Kabendera charges, investigate Gwanda case

CPJ writes to Tanzanian President John Magufuli to urge his government to drop charges against freelance journalist Erick Kabendera and provide a public accounting of the fate of missing journalist Azory Gwanda.

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Freelance journalist Erick Kabendera, who is detained in Tanzania. (Jamii Forums)

Tanzania switches track, charges Kabendera with economic crimes

Nairobi, August 05, 2019—Prosecutors in Tanzania today charged freelance journalist Erick Kabendera with money laundering, tax evasion, and assisting an organized crime racket, according to a copy of the charge sheet. When he was detained on July 29, the Dar es Salaam police chief said at a press conference that police were investigating Kabendera’s citizenship…

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A screenshot of Dar es Salaam police chief Lazaro Mambosasa, left, speaking at a July 30 press conference. Mambosasa said that police have detained freelancer Erick Kabendera. (YouTube/Kwanza TV)

Tanzania detains freelancer Kabendera over ‘citizenship’

Nairobi, July 30, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Tanzanian authorities to immediately release freelance journalist Erick Kabendera, whom police said is being investigated over his citizenship status.

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A local market in Dar es Salaam, pictured in May 31. A group of armed men forcefully took an investigative journalist from his home outside the city on July 29. (AFP/Said Khalfan)

Unidentified men take Erick Kabendera from Tanzanian home

Nairobi, July 29, 2019– The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned for the safety of investigative reporter Erick Kabendera who was forcefully removed from his home today, and called on Tanzanian police to disclose whether they have him in custody.

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In an interview today, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Palamagamba Kabudi said that journalist Azory Gwanda, who has been missing since 2017, is dead. (Photo credit: Mwananchi Publications Limited)

In BBC interview, Tanzanian foreign minister says journalist Azory Gwanda is dead

Nairobi, July 10, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Tanzanian government to provide a detailed public account of the fate of freelance journalist Azory Gwanda after the country’s foreign minister, Palamagamba Kabudi, said in an interview that the journalist is dead.

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A newspaper stand is seen in Mwanza, Tanzania, on September 19, 2015. Tanzania is currently considering legal amendments that could negatively affect press freedom. (AFP/Daniel Hayduk)

CPJ urges Tanzania lawmakers to revise proposed legislative amendments

Nairobi, June 21, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today urged Tanzanian lawmakers to revise a set of proposed legislative amendments, some of which would pose undue restrictions on freedom of expression.

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A banner of Tanzanian President John Magufuli hangs on a wall around a tanzanite mine, in April 2018. CPJ and other organizations are calling on the Human Rights Council to address a crackdown on journalists, human rights defenders, and other groups in the country. (AFP/Joseph Lyimo)

Human Rights Council should address Tanzania crackdown

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 37 other non-governmental organizations today sent a letter to member and observer states of the United Nations Human Rights Council, asking them to address the crackdown on human rights in Tanzania at the 41st session of the council.

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CPJ’s #WhereIsAzory campaign to highlight missing Tanzanian journalist

New York, April 4, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today launched the #WhereIsAzory campaign to bring attention to the case of Tanzanian freelance journalist Azory Gwanda, as tomorrow marks 500 days since he was last seen.

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A Tanzanian shoe-shiner conducts his business underneath an election poster for then ruling party presidential candidate, and later president, John Magufuli, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on October 27, 2015. On March 28, 2019, the East African Court of Justice found that multiple sections of Tanzania's Media Services Act restrict press freedom. (AP Photo/Khalfan Said)

East African court rules that Tanzania’s Media Services Act violates press freedom

Nairobi, March 28, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed a ruling today by the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) that multiple sections of Tanzania’s Media Services Act restrict press freedom and freedom of expression, and called on the Tanzanian government to repeal the act.

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Tanzanians sit next to a tree in Dar es Salaam in 2015. Tanzanian authorities this week imposed a temporary ban on The Citizen over its reporting. (AP/Khalfan Said)

Tanzania imposes 7-day publication ban on The Citizen

Nairobi, March 1, 2019–Authorities in Tanzania should lift a seven-day publication ban on the privately owned newspaper The Citizen and allow journalists to report on matters of public interest freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Information Services Department, which oversees newspaper licenses, temporarily suspended the publication license of The Citizen on February…

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