By David Kisanga
28th November 2013
Tanzania electronic, print media
doing news coverage
The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders
Coalition (THRDC) has completed its country’s security needs assessment survey
for human rights, Non Governmantal Organizations (NGOs), and journalists.
According to their findings and what was recorded in the questionnaires distributed, media practitioners working for public media outlets are facing severe hatred from fractions of the citizenry or from supporters of certain political parties.
These have led to commotions during political rallies and in situations where there is a tug of war between the citizenry in one side and the government and investors on the other side.
Given this situation this coalition foreseen of worst scenario as this country is heading towards the 2015 General Elections. Incidents of hurling stones and other forms of humiliations to this group are a common practice according to leaders of the 16 regional press clubs that were visited by this coalition.
Good examples to elucidate this scenario are found in all regions which are strong mainstay of the opposition, or which are endowed with rich reserves of natural resources.
In this category regions like Mbeya, Iringa, Mtwara, Arusha, Kigoma and Dar es Salam have witnessed incidents of humiliating journalists like what happened to the TBC broadcaster Marin Hassani Marin when he was harassed by sympathizers to one of the main opposition parties in the country, when it was launching its presidential candidate in the 2010 General Elections at the Jangwani grounds following a sudden blackout of the national television coverage.
Happenings like these could hinder the work of media practitioners in public media outlets which are run on coffers money.
According to Tanzania Human Rights Defenders-Coalition (THRDC) National Coordinator Onesmo Olengurumwa any sudden blackout of this media outlets have always created a critical risky situation towards these journalists as the public at large tend to assume that it is the journalists who decide what should and should not be aired without any attempt to understand that reporters operate under orders from their managements and editors.
Just to mention a few, Olengurumwa pointed out that a similar blackout of news from the TBC led to the unprecedented violence against the Mtwara based TBC reporter Kassimu Mikongolo in May this year, whose house was set ablaze by the irate mobs condemning him for terminating this coverage deliberately.
He mentioned other similar incidents that also occurred in Arusha, where TBC reporters were sidelined during the Arumeru by-election, and in other rallies by CHADEMA. This has forced them to use stories which have been collected by their colleagues from such rallies.
He mentioned Journalists from public media outlets who faced difficulties as Leonard Manga, Sechela Kongola, Khalfan Mshana and Ben Mwaipaja.
Olengurumwa gave an example of Kigoma where journalists working in public media outlets have a working confidence with leaders from all parties. However, citizens at large do not have trust with such outlets. In Kigoma TBC reporter Dotto Elias once faced a stiff challenge at the CHADEMA rally where he was harassed by its sympathizers. In that occasion CHADEMA’s leaders came to his rescue.
Gervas Msigwa also with TBC has been facing harassments whenever he attends CHADEMA’s rallies he had a narrow escape from an attack during the by-election in Lisabon Songea in 2011.
“There is a need to improve managerial capacity to the runners of these institutions so that they can get well acclimatized to the multiparty era in which this country is now operating.”
The current chairman of the Iringa Press Club Frank Leonard, who is employed by a public media outlet publisher of Daily News and Habari Leo, says there is a problem with politicians who fail to construe journalists as members of the community and that whatever they report reflect people’s wishes.
Citing in the 2010 General Election the ruling CCM top leadership had substituted its candidate who emerged an overall winner and replaced him with the one who happened to be their own choice.
By reporting this discrepancy he was seen as an agent of the opposition so he was confronted by the CCM’s Green Guards on grounds that he was working against their party, at the end of the day the ruling party lost in the Iringa Urban Constituency.
According to their findings and what was recorded in the questionnaires distributed, media practitioners working for public media outlets are facing severe hatred from fractions of the citizenry or from supporters of certain political parties.
These have led to commotions during political rallies and in situations where there is a tug of war between the citizenry in one side and the government and investors on the other side.
Given this situation this coalition foreseen of worst scenario as this country is heading towards the 2015 General Elections. Incidents of hurling stones and other forms of humiliations to this group are a common practice according to leaders of the 16 regional press clubs that were visited by this coalition.
Good examples to elucidate this scenario are found in all regions which are strong mainstay of the opposition, or which are endowed with rich reserves of natural resources.
In this category regions like Mbeya, Iringa, Mtwara, Arusha, Kigoma and Dar es Salam have witnessed incidents of humiliating journalists like what happened to the TBC broadcaster Marin Hassani Marin when he was harassed by sympathizers to one of the main opposition parties in the country, when it was launching its presidential candidate in the 2010 General Elections at the Jangwani grounds following a sudden blackout of the national television coverage.
Happenings like these could hinder the work of media practitioners in public media outlets which are run on coffers money.
According to Tanzania Human Rights Defenders-Coalition (THRDC) National Coordinator Onesmo Olengurumwa any sudden blackout of this media outlets have always created a critical risky situation towards these journalists as the public at large tend to assume that it is the journalists who decide what should and should not be aired without any attempt to understand that reporters operate under orders from their managements and editors.
Just to mention a few, Olengurumwa pointed out that a similar blackout of news from the TBC led to the unprecedented violence against the Mtwara based TBC reporter Kassimu Mikongolo in May this year, whose house was set ablaze by the irate mobs condemning him for terminating this coverage deliberately.
He mentioned other similar incidents that also occurred in Arusha, where TBC reporters were sidelined during the Arumeru by-election, and in other rallies by CHADEMA. This has forced them to use stories which have been collected by their colleagues from such rallies.
He mentioned Journalists from public media outlets who faced difficulties as Leonard Manga, Sechela Kongola, Khalfan Mshana and Ben Mwaipaja.
Olengurumwa gave an example of Kigoma where journalists working in public media outlets have a working confidence with leaders from all parties. However, citizens at large do not have trust with such outlets. In Kigoma TBC reporter Dotto Elias once faced a stiff challenge at the CHADEMA rally where he was harassed by its sympathizers. In that occasion CHADEMA’s leaders came to his rescue.
Gervas Msigwa also with TBC has been facing harassments whenever he attends CHADEMA’s rallies he had a narrow escape from an attack during the by-election in Lisabon Songea in 2011.
“There is a need to improve managerial capacity to the runners of these institutions so that they can get well acclimatized to the multiparty era in which this country is now operating.”
The current chairman of the Iringa Press Club Frank Leonard, who is employed by a public media outlet publisher of Daily News and Habari Leo, says there is a problem with politicians who fail to construe journalists as members of the community and that whatever they report reflect people’s wishes.
Citing in the 2010 General Election the ruling CCM top leadership had substituted its candidate who emerged an overall winner and replaced him with the one who happened to be their own choice.
By reporting this discrepancy he was seen as an agent of the opposition so he was confronted by the CCM’s Green Guards on grounds that he was working against their party, at the end of the day the ruling party lost in the Iringa Urban Constituency.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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