Tanzanian Govt Shuts Down Newspaper Over Fake News Allegations

Tanzania, on Friday, closed the third newspaper since June as part of media crackdown, it has been reported.

The action is coming on the heels of the warning by President John Magufuli earlier in the year that the days of newspapers his government viewed as unethical were numbered.

The Director-General of the state-run Tanzania Information Services, Hassan Abbasi, said in a statement that a weekly newspaper, Raia Mwema, has been banned from publishing for 90 days, beginning on Friday.

“The independently-owned outlet was suspended after publishing an article this week saying Magufuli was destined to fail in his job and in which it attributed “fabricated” statements to the president.

“The government issued a lenient punishment despite the gravity of the offence because the editors admitted their mistake,” he said.

Tanzania suspended publication of the weekly MwanaHalisi newspaper for 24 months on Sept. 20 and banned another newspaper, Mawio, in June for a similar period.

Magufuli, nicknamed “The Bulldozer” for his forceful leadership style, has won some praise from Western donors for his anti-corruption drive and for cutting wasteful public spending.

However, opponents accuse him of increasingly undermining democracy by curbing dissent and stifling free speech.