STATEMENT ON THE REVOCATION OF TANZANIA DAIMA LICENCE

June 24, 2020

We, The Media Council of Tanzania and Tanzania Editors’ Forum have been shocked by the decision of the government to revoke the licence of Tanzania Daima newspaper, effectively banning it. The Government statement issued on June 23, 2020 by the Director of Information who doubles up as Registrar of Newspapers, said that effective June 24, 2020 the newspaper would not be allowed to be printed and distributed within and outside the country. The Director has applied Section 9(b) of the Media Services Act (MSA, 2016) to impose the sanction. The reason given is that the newspaper has repeatedly flouted national laws and journalism ethics in its reportage. The laws were not made explicit nor were the journalism ethics.

It is very sad that such decisions to curtail media freedoms are coming at this time when the country is poised for the General Election. Such is a time when citizens need platforms of expression and information to be broadened rather than narrowed. This decision paints the country in bad light and casts doubt on level playing field, especially because it is no secret that the paper was known to stand for alternative views not necessarily in line with the government positions.

We have said consistently, as we hereby reiterate that in the name of good Governance and Rule of Law MSA is a bad law because it allows the Government to be complainant, prosecutor and judge of its own case. This leaves no room for fairness in dispensing justice.

The law provides for an aggrieved party whose licence has been revoked to re-apply for the licence to the same authority that revoked it, or to appeal to the Minister for Information under whom the Directorate falls. It is apparent that this arrangement does not in-still a lot of confidence.

 Indeed the government’s decision apart from curtailing press freedom is also an infringement upon the right to work for Tanzania Daima workers, taking away a means to their livelihood and that of their family members.

We would like to reiterate our call for review of this controversial law, whose 16 sections have been determined by the East African Court of Justice to gag media freedom and freedom of expression, thus going against democratic dispensation and the spirit of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.

We would like to remind the government of the commitment it made on May 3, 2019 during World Press Freedom Day commemorations in Dodoma, agreeing to a joint team of government and stakeholder experts to review the law. MCT, as the Chair of the Coalition on the Right to Information, has written twice to the Minister on the matter, and we still await a response so that the team is formed and starts work.

In the meantime, we would like to remind editors and their reporters to observe guidelines issued in the MCT Manual on Reporting Elections in Tanzania (second edition, 2015), and make a positive contribution to the country’s democratic process.

Kajubi D. Mukajanga                                                                       Neville Meena

Executive Secretary                                                                                  SecretaryTEF