The
United States of America’s Tanzania embassy has again raised concern over
stifling freedom of expression and inclusive political participation, calling
for honour of rights as stipulated in the country’s constitution.
This statement comes following arrest of the leader
of a prominent opposition party, Alliance
for Transparency
and Change (ACT), Zitto Kabwe and other seven key leaders
on Tuesday June 23.
Also the same day, the government revoked
the licence of the print and online publication of the Tanzania Daima daily
The newspaper, one of the largest in
the country, is owned by the leader of the official opposition in parliament
(CHADEMA), Freeman Mbowe.
According
to the Embassy’s statement posted today on its twitter account, citing that these actions follow a disconcerting pattern of
intimidation toward opposition members, civil society, and media outlets.
“The Embassy of the United States of America expresses concern
over recent actions by the Government of Tanzania to stifle democratic norms,
including the arrest of political opposition figures during a closed party
meeting and the revocation of the media license of an opposition party
newspaper.” Says the statement.
The Embassy said that the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are enshrined in the Tanzanian Constitution, and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that the U.S. Embassy proudly supports freedom of expression and inclusive political participation in all formats.
Kabwe, an
outspoken legislature for Kigoma urban was recently found guilty of sedition
and barred from making public statements for one year. Before that, he had been
a vocal critic of current administration and its approach in dealing with the
coronavirus.
The country
has also enacted strict laws on cyber-crimes and "media
services." The laws allow authorities to suspend media outlets and charge
journalists with sedition for publishing information deemed a threat to peace,
false, or even just misleading.
While Tanzania
police have enforced the government’s ban on political rallies when it comes to
opposition parties, ruling party officials have been holding rallies and other
political activities across the country ahead of the election in which the President
John Magufuli seeks a second term.
Rights
groups have several times accused President Magufuli’s administration of
shrinking the democratic space in the East African country since taking power
in 2015.
In a statement on Wednesday, Amnesty International described the arrests as "a calculated move to harass and intimidate the opposition and critics ahead of elections, restrict their human rights and limit their campaigning". - Africa
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