Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan speaks during the Oslo Energy Forum in Oslo, Norway, on Feb. 14. Hassan is seeking to carve out a separate path from her authoritarian predecessor, John Magufuli.For eight years, Tanzania’s police were notorious for crushing street protests with tear gas and bullets. But in recent weeks, they have switched to something unexpected: marching in front of opposition demonstrators to ensure their safety.
So far, the new policy on opposition protests seems successful. Chadema, the main party challenging the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, has held a series of marches and rallies across the country, beginning on April 22, without any apparent problems. The marches have proceeded smoothly, with police protection and cheering crowds.
“The atmosphere of fear and anxiety among our staff is real at times,” said Martin Melera, chief editor of Tanzania Daima, a Swahili-language newspaper. “It has deterred them from chasing certain stories or investigating sensitive issues, fearing for their personal safety.” Another newspaper, Mawio, was banned in 2017 after it reported on alleged corruption and election fraud. Its editor-in-chief, Simon Mkina, was jailed for several days, and criminal charges were filed against him and his deputy editor, forcing him to shuttle back and forth to court for years. The newspaper was banned for five years, and the criminal case dragged on for a further year until it was quietly dropped.
An English-language Tanzanian newspaper, The Guardian, lost advertising revenue and subscribers in the Magufuli years because businesses and readers were afraid of reprisals if they associated with dissenting voices. Today, while the harshest repression has ended, there are still lingering fears that persuade journalists to constrain themselves, according to The Guardian’s managing editor, Wallace Maugo.
Many Tanzanian newspapers are still reliant on government advertising, and this can make them reluctant to do anything that could jeopardize this revenue, Mr. Maugo added.