New York, June 10, 2005—Authorities on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar have banned political columnist Jabir Idrissa from writing, saying he was working without permission. Idrissa told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he believes he was banned for criticizing the Zanzibar government. The Zanzibar-based Idrissa is a well-known political columnist for the weekly,…
JUNE 9, 2005 Updated: June 24, 2005 Jabir Idrissa, Rai CENSORED Authorities on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar banned political columnist Jabir Idrissa from writing, saying he was working without permission. Idrissa told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he believes he was banned for criticizing the Zanzibar government.
New York, November 30, 2004—The popular weekly Dira, Zanzibar’s only independent newspaper, remains shuttered after a court refused to reverse a one-year-old government ban. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities to lift the “outrageous” ban, and repeal laws that allow the government to silence critical reporting. The High Court on Tanzania’s semi-autonomous island…
Although the number of journalists in prison in Africa at the end of 2003 was lower than the previous year, African journalists still faced a multitude of difficulties, including government harassment and physical assaults. Many countries in Africa retain harsh press laws. In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, some…
New York, November 25, 2003—The government of Zanzibar, a semiautonomous island off the coast of Tanzania, has ordered the indefinite suspension of the independent weekly Dira, according to local journalists and international press reports. Dira, the island’s most popular newspaper, has been highly critical of the government. Editor Ali Nabwa told CPJ that Dira received…
Although the Kenya-based East African Standard, one of Africa’s oldest continuously published newspapers, marked its 100th anniversary in November, journalism remains a difficult profession on the continent, with adverse government policies and multifaceted economic woes still undermining the full development of African media.
Like many of its East African neighbors,Tanzania has been overwhelmed by the proliferation of pornographic tabloids. Since 1992, when the advent of multiparty politics fostered media liberalization, the number of privately owned newspapers has steadily increased to about 400.
Silence reigned supreme in Eritrea, where the entire independent press was under a government ban and 11 journalists languished in jail at year’s end. Clamorous, deadly power struggles raged in Zimbabwe over land and access to information, and in Burundi over ethnicity and control of state resources. South Africa, Senegal, and Benin remained relatively liberal…
In June, the government of President Benjamin William Mkapa published a review of its media policy, outlining proposed changes to existing media laws. The document expressed the government’s commitment to press freedom and to providing quality education and training for journalists. But it applied only to the mainland and excluded the island of Zanzibar.