MwanaHALISI, which has seen its circulation growth from 7,000 to 60,000 since it was launched in May 2006, has had great success with the public, while some of those involved in the stories the paper unearths have become its harshest critics. On 13 October 2008, the country’s Minister of Information, Sports and Culture, Captain George Mkuchika, announced the three-month ban for the paper’s alleged wont for running controversial stories. Specifically, the paper was accused of intending to “incite public hatred” against president Kikwete and for contributing to quarrels within the president’s family. The October headline, deemed seditious, that read “The plot to oust Kikwete from power discovered – His son Ridhwani to be used – people implicated with graft reorganize themselves,” triggered the government to take concrete action against the paper. Mkuchika said that the paper was trying to ferment chaos by comparing the situation in Tanzania to the environment in South Africa that led to the resignation of president Thabo Mbeki. Further, he said it was laced with false information and intruded on other people’s privacy, something according to political analysts is totally untrue.
Under the tenets of the Newspaper Act of 1976, the paper was suspended on 13 October in line with the law. “I would like to emphasize that this punishment should serve as a lesson, not only to this particular newspaper, but also to others that deliberately violated professional guidelines on the pretext of exercising freedom of expression,” said Mkuchika. His warning has indeed percolated throughout the media scene; however, media professionals are not succumbing lightly to his warnings. Rather, in a strong concerted effort the Editors Forum of Tanzania has led the private media to enact a media blackout on Mkuchika. Thus far the editors of ITV, The Guardian, Nipashe, Mwanachi, Mtanzania, Bingwa, The African, Kulikoni, This Day, The Express, Majira, Star TV, The Citizen and Mwanaspoti have joined in. “The media scene in Tanzania is nervous. Editors, especially those with independent papers, which expose vices in the government, are taking extra care before deciding what to publish. They fear that more papers could be banned. Since the creation of the new Communications Division headed by Mkuchika, coincidentally a veteran journalist, respect for press freedom has been ebbing away.
Journalists and editors from various media houses in a peaceful demonstration against the banning of MwanaHalisi weekly tabloid n Dar es salaam recently. The ban is against the suppression of press freedom
Meanwhile, Editors from different media houses staged a peaceful demonstration to register their opposition to a government ban on MwanaHALISI weekly tabloid. The peaceful march that started at Lugoda Street, Gerezani near Business Times offices and headed to the information ministry offices along Samora Avenue in Dar es Salaam, was also supported by activists from other organisations. The editors marched with sealed mouths, being a mark of silencing the media and suppressing its freedom. They also displayed placards that carried varied messages, all opposed to the banning of MwanaHALISI. Some of the placards read as follows, “the government should not temper with press freedom, Mwanahalisi is banned but the corrupt leaders are still in office. Who revealed the EPA, Richmond and UVCCM scandals? We want MwanaHalisi back”. “We shall continue writing until the end of this world. The newspapers Act of 1976 should be abandoned; MwanaHaLISI is the ear, mouth and eye of every Tanzanian”. At the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports headquarters, the protestors were received by the Deputy Director of the Tanzania Information Services Habib Nyundo, as the minister was not in office at that time. Nyundo said he had received the message and would convey it to the minister. However, he advised the editors to stop using the name `Editors Forum because it was not registered anywhere.
”I received your message, but I would like to advise you to stop identifying yourselves under the Editors Forum banner because it is not known to the government”, he said.
In response, Editors Forum acting chairperson Absalom Kibanda differed with Nyundo.
Kibanda argued that the editors forming the body were fully known and operated legally because they were registered professionals with the Tanzania Information Services (Maelezo). He said it was improper for the government to reject the editors group at the same time accepting its members as registered professionals. He said adding that they should tell them the suitable persons who should belong to the Forum. He insisted the banning of MwanaHalisi was improper because contribution of the private media to the development of the country was crucial as compared to state-run outlets. Kibanda said the aim of the demonstration was not to prove the story wrong or right, but making it clear to the government that silencing the media was totally wrong. The chairman of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)-Tanzania, Ayoub Rioba, said Tanzania was a country that was ruled by democratic principles and there was no way the state could deny that fact but only adhere to it. Ananelia Nkya, executive director of the Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA), said the banning of MwanHALISI denied people the right to give their opinion. “If this continues, a day will come all private newspapers will be banned,” she said. MwanaHALISI was banned for three months after it published a story in its October issue linking big shots in the ruling party CCM to an alleged secret plot to oust President Jakaya Kikwete
No comments:
Post a Comment