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| Verdiana Mjwahuzi died on Tuesday at Amana Hospital in the capital city of Dar es Salaam |
Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA
The
mother of imprisoned Tanzanian investigative journalist, Erick Kabendera, has
died at the age of 80, the family has confirmed.
Verdiana Mjwahuzi died on Tuesday at Amana
Hospital in the capital city of Dar es Salaam, where she has been receiving
treatment.
Two weeks ago, Mjwahuzi pleaded with the Tanzania
President John Magufuli to pardon her son; who according to her, was her
caretaker.
Kabendera, an international correspondent
journalist was initially arrested in late July 2019 after police claimed his
citizenship was in question.
They later changed tack and
charged him with economic crimes including money laundering and tax
evasion—accusations for which he cannot qualify for bail.
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| FILE: Erick Kabendera being escorted to a Kisutu court-room in Dar es Salaam |
The case has so far been adjourned six times,
with Kabendera appearing in court limping on
Sept. 12 amid reports that his health is
deteriorating.
The detention of
Kabendera is the latest in a string of years-long crackdown on the press in
Tanzania under the this regime.
Popularly known as “The
Bulldozer,” Magufuli strode into office in 2015 after a populist campaign
promising to tackle corruption and introduce large-scale reforms.
At the time of his
arrest, Kabendera’s ailing mother was living with him.
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