Media men and women, publishers and other media stakeholders are seeking an end to assaults on journalists that are posing serious threaten to press freedom in the country.
In a crisis meeting called that culminated in the creation of a 16-member team to lay strategies on how to ensure journalists’ safety yesterday, stakeholders hit out at the use of security personnel and State operatives to intimidate media personnel.
They cited recent incidents in which officials from the Immigration Department interrogated the parents of freelance journalist Erick Kabendera for several hours during which they questioned the senior citizens’ nationalities, after having ferried them for several kilometres away from their village homes in Kagera Region to Bukoba town.
A TV reporter, Daudi Mwangosi, died last year in police hands as he covered a political rally in Iringa Region. His abdomen was ripped open by a gas canister that was reportedly fired at close range by a policeman who has since been charged in court.
Yesterday meeting also came hot on the heels of a barbaric attack last week of the chairman of Editors Forum (TEF) Mr Absalom Kibanda who had to be flown to South Africa where he underwent an operation to remove a badly damaged eye.
The stakeholders, drawn from various media organisations including the Media Owners Association (Moat), Misa-Tan, Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), TEF, Tanzania Media Women’s Association (Tamwa), Tanzania Media Fund (TMF), resolved that the attack on Mr Kibanda was an attack on the freedom of the press because it was meant to silence him.
One of the functions of the committee formed yesterday will be to seek audience with heads of security organs and the minister for Home Affairs and discuss the scary situation of journalists in the country.
Moat chairperson Mr Reginald Mengi said the committee would meet the minister for Internal Affairs, the IGP, director of Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services together with his deputy and the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) director general.
“The rate of these incidents has been on the increase and as a result we need to meet these top leaders and discuss what went wrong and what we can do to ensure safety for this endangered group,” said Mr Mengi.
Meanwhile, Moat urged the government to form an independent commission with a duty to investigate criminal acts that target journalists.
“The pace in which the usual commissions from our security organs take is very slow; on the other hand some executives in the organs are seemingly culpable,” reads part of the declaration.
The stakeholders also condemned incidents in which some State security operatives collaborate with those bent on harassing media personnel.
The declaration noted that Mr Kabendera’s parents were questioned by the Immigration officers who had been paid by a person who is, however, not in government.
“We know that person and we challenge the government to name him, otherwise we will do it ourselves since we know him,” said Mr Mengi.
The stakeholders also cited the 2008 case of Saed Kubenea and Ndimara Tegambwage who were attacked with acid as they worked at their office in Dar es Salaam.
Noting that Mr Kibanda was assaulted by elements that were not happy with his brand of journalism, the declaration noted that the motive was of such heinous attacks was to inculcate fear in media workers.
“Mostly journalists now fail to do their work boldly in fear of suffering Mr Kibanda fate,” reads the declaration.
The team will be headed by Mr Mengi and other team members will Mr Henry Muhanika, Moat official, Mr Hussein Bashe the Managing Director of New Habari (2006) Ltd, Mr Tido Mhando from Mwananchi Communications Ltd, Mr Aga Mbughuni from Business Times Ltd, Mr Abdallah Mrisho of the Global Publishers.
Others are: Mr Ansbert Nguromo of Free Media Ltd, Mr Jesse Kwayu from The Guardian Ltd, Mr Mikidadi Mahmoud from Uhuru Publishers, Ms Godfrida Jola from Tamwa, Mr Japhet Sanga from Tanzania Media Fund, Mr Neville Meena from Editors Forum, Ms Pili Mtambalike of Media Council of Tanzania, Mr Tumaini Mwilenge from Misa-Tan, Mr Deodatus Balile from Jamhuri Newspaper and Mr Samson Kamalamo from Changamoto newspaper.
Mr Kibanda becomes the fifth journalist to be attacked within the past six months. Two journalists were killed and three others were seriously harmed during this short period.
In January this year Mr Issa Ngumba – a Kakonko-based correspondent with Radio Kwizera – was found dead in the forest with bullet wounds in his body.
Last November, an editor with Business Times Ltd, Mr Mnaku Mbani, was shot and seriously injured by suspected robbers who were attempting to hijack the vehicle he had hired for the day.
The following month Mr Shabaan Matutu, a journalist with Free Media Group, was shot in his home by the police in what law enforcement called ‘a case of mistaken identity.’
Reported by Alex Bitekeye and Anuciatha Lucas
TheCitizen
Leave a Reply