Tanzania: victory for media freedom as ban on four newspapers lifted

The lifting of ban on four newspapers that had been barred from publishing since 2016 and 2017 for exposing alleged corruption and human rights violations is a very positive step.

Nape Nnauye, Tanzania’s Minister for Information, Communications and Information Technology, announced the lifting of the ban on the four newspapers on 10 February 2022 at a meeting with newspaper editors in Dar es Salaam.

On 6 April 2021, President Samia Suluhu Hassan instructed the authorities to allow media outlets banned under her predecessor ’s administration, John Magufuli, to resume operations.

The four newspapers, Tanzania Daima, Mawio, Mwanahalisi and Mseto, were banned from publishing for various offences under the restrictive Media Services Act, which came into force in November 2016, and the now repealed Newspaper Act.

The Tanzanian authorities have used the Media Services Act and the Newspaper Act to shut down, fine or suspend independent and critical media outlets for publishing or broadcasting allegations of corruption and human rights violations or reporting on general issues of governance.