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press releases & Protests
September 18, 2006
H E Mr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete
President of the Republic of Tanzania
c/o H E Mr Andrew M Daraja
The Ambassador
Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania
2139 R Street NW
Washington DC 20008
United States of America
Fax: +1-202-797 7408
email: balozi@tanzaniaembassy-us.org
Your Excellency,
The World Press Freedom Committee, an international organisation to which 45 media organisations on six continents are affiliated, is deeply concerned about the conduct of the media and that of governments towards the media throughout the world.
We have learned with alarm about the arrests and questioning by police of two editors and a journalist on the staff of the privately-owned Rai newspaper owned by Habari Corporation after criminal charges were laid against them by the Minister of Lands and Settlements, John Magufuli.
According to reports we have received, Chief Editor John Bwire and Editor Muhingo Rweyemamu and journalist Nephilitius Kyaruzibeen were summoned to the Kijitonyama police station in Dar es Salaam seven weeks after Minister Magufuli laid the charges at Dodoma police station.
We are told that the charges arise from an article in Rai in July in which it was reported that Members of Parliament from Tanzania’s Mwanza region had requested the reasons why the construction of the Usagara-Chato road had not been completed despite the funds for the road having been allocated in the 2005/6 Budget.
The article also alleged that the funds for the road had been depleted despite the road not being completed and that the road was diverted 15-km from the targeted destination towards Minister Magufuli’s constituency.
The journalists were held for six hours at the Kijitonyama police station where they were forced to make statements regarding the allegations in the report. They were then released from custody.
In common with other media organisations throughout the world we believe that no person should be able to lay criminal charges against journalists for the publication of news and information and that the police have no right to keep journalists in custody or force them to make statements following publication.
We believe that “the crime” of publishing “false information” or criminalising defamation is untenable in a modern society. The accepted method of seeking redress for an alleged defamation is to launch a civil action for damages against a publication.
Tanzania has accepted the media standards outlined by the African Union’s Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in its Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa.
This Declaration has spelled out in fine detail the principles which apply to freedom of expression and freedom of the media, several of which apply specifically to the case of the Rai journalists.
After “reaffirming the fundamental importance of freedom of expression as an individual human right, as a cornerstone of democracy and as a means of ensuring respect for all human rights and freedoms”, the preamble states, among others, that signatories are “convinced that laws and customs that repress freedom of expression are a disservice to society”. It also recalls that “freedom of expression is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other international documents and national constitutions”.
Section I guarantees freedom of expression which is expressed in Clause 1 as “Freedom of expression and information, including the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, either orally or in print .... is a fundamental and inalienable human right and an indispensable component of democracy”.
Section II lays down that there should be no interference with Freedom of Expression, stating in Clause 1 that “No on shall be subject to arbitrary interference with his or her freedom of expression” and in Clause 2 that “Any restrictions on freedom of expression shall be provided by law, serve a legitimate interest and be necessary in a democratic society”.
Section IX, which deals with complaints against the media, provides for the establishment of public complaints systems for print or broadcasting and preferably that they should be self-regulatory -- “Effective self regulation is the best system for promoting high standards in the media” -- and that they should abide by established rules and codes of conduct agreed with all stakeholders. A feature of the Declaration is that whatever mechanism is set up it shall be protected against political, economic or any other undue interference.
In Section X (Promoting Professionalism), Clause 2 states that “the right to express oneself through the media by practising journalism shall not be subject to undue legal restrictions”.
We are unsure what charge the minister has laid against Rai but suspect it is a claim for defamation and thus quote Section XII (Protecting Reputations) which states under Clause 1: States should ensure that their laws relating to defamation conform to the following standards:
a) No one shall be found liable for untrue statements, opinions or statements
regarding public figures which it was reasonable to make in the circumstances;
b) public figures shall be required to tolerate a greater degree of criticism;
and
c) sanctions shall never be so severe as to inhibit the right to freedom of
expression, including by others.
Section XIII also has relevance. It has the title of Criminal Measures and contains two clauses:
Clause 1 lays down that states shall review all criminal restrictions on content to ensure that they serve a legitimate interest in a democratic society.
Clause 2 states that freedom of expression should not be restricted on public order or national security grounds unless there is a real risk of harm to a legitimate interest and there is a close causal link between the risk of harm and the expression.
Interpretation of this and the other codes mentioned in the Declaration by international media bodies and in several instances by such esteemed courts as the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and institutions such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights are that it is unacceptable that journalists should be prosecuted criminally for publishing an inaccurate report.
The remarkable feature of this case is that the journalists were reporting what Members of Parliament had complained about and for them to be charged criminally and harassed by the police in such circumstances is totally unacceptable.
Your Excellency will be aware that Tanzania is undergoing a major assessment of its democratic and “good Governance” practices under the African Union’s Nepad and African Peer Review Mechanism. We believe that Your Excellency’s government’s actions against these journalists constitutes a serious breach of “good Governance” and that we shall have to draw the attention of Professor Adebayo Adedeji, head of the APRM review mission, to this breach unless the charges are withdrawn and suitable redress has been accorded the journalists and their paper.
We also believe that the conduct against these journalists contravenes the sentiments expressed in the slogan Your Excellency has made popular, “New Vigour, New Zeal and New Speed: Promoting Better Life for all Tanzanians” and Your Excellency’s pursuit of pro-investment and pro-growth policies and the campaign against corruption and graft.
Yours sincerely,
E. Markham Bench
Executive Director
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