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| Managing Editor of a Swahili daily Newspaper, Tanzania Daima & Chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum , Absalom Kibanda. |
TANZANIA: EDITOR QUESTIONED OVER OPINION ARTICLE
The Police on Friday questioned the Managing Editor of a Swahili daily Newspaper, Tanzania Daima, Absalom Kibanda, over an opinion article recently published by the paper.
Mr. Kibanda, who is also a Chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum, was questioned on Friday December 16, 2011 for over three hours at police headquarters in Dar es Salaam over the article, which the police claimed was “seditious”.
According to Tanzania Union of Journalists (TUJ), Kibanda was later released on Tanzanian Shs. 5 millions bond (about 3125 US dollors) but was required to report back to the police today, apparently for further questioning.
The opinion piece in question was written by Samson Mwigamba, a columnist with the daily, and was published in the November 30, 2011 issue, apparently as an open letter to members of the security forces. Mwigamba, is out on bail after being charged with sedition in a Dar es Salaam court.
Police claimed the article had the motive of stirring up discontent among junior police officers so that they refuse to obey orders from their superiors if they seemed to be serving political interests.
According to Mr. Kibanda, the article was from a contributor who expressed his personal opinion and did not reflect the editorial views of the paper.
“I don’t agree with the police’s interpretation of the article. I have fears that the police may use the article in question to undermine press freedom in the country” Said Kibanda.
Reacting to the report, Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA) Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman termed the move to summon and question the editor, “an attempt to stifle press freedom” in Tanzania.
“We urge the Tanzanian authorities to stop any acts of intimidation against journalists and even individuals who choose to use the press to express their opinions,” added Osman.
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