Tanzania: Zanzibar government bars critical journalist from working
Authorities on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar have banned political columnist Jabir Idrissa from writing, saying he was working without permission. Idrissa told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he believes he was banned for criticizing the Zanzibar government. The Zanzibar-based Idrissa is a well-known political columnist for the weekly, Swahili language newspaper Rai. The newspaper is based on the Tanzanian mainland, but sells on Zanzibar.
ALERT - TANZANIA (ZANZIBAR)
10 June 2005
Zanzibar government bars critical journalist from working
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**For further information on the "Dira" case, see alerts of 24 November
2004, 4 December and 25 November 2003**
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:
TANZANIA: ZANZIBAR GOVERNMENT BARS CRITICAL JOURNALIST FROM WORKING
New York, June 10, 2005 - Authorities on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian
island of Zanzibar have banned political columnist Jabir Idrissa from
writing, saying he was working without permission. Idrissa told the
Committee to Protect Journalists that he believes he was banned for
criticizing the Zanzibar government.
The Zanzibar-based Idrissa is a well-known political columnist for the
weekly, Swahili language newspaper Rai. The newspaper is based on the
Tanzanian mainland, but sells on Zanzibar. Idrissa told CPJ he had been
writing the column for about a year and that it had criticized the Zanzibar
government for human rights abuses and bad governance.
In a statement yesterday, Zanzibar's information ministry said that Idrissa
had been working illegally as a journalist on Zanzibar and that he was being
barred from practicing journalism until he complied with the island's
regulations. Director of Information Ali Mwinyikai told CPJ that a 1988
Zanzibar law obliged all journalists working on the island to obtain press
accreditation from his ministry, but that Idrissa had not done so. This
accreditation must be renewed annually, he said.
Idrissa told CPJ that he had a press card issued by the union government of
Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, and that he did not believe it was necessary to
have two press cards. He and one other local journalist said that Zanzibar
authorities have not routinely enforced the island's accreditation rule.
In November 2003, Zanzibar authorities used the 1988 law to shutter the
island's only independent newspaper, Dira, on unspecified "national
security" grounds. Independent journalists want the law scrapped, saying it
is unconstitutional.
"We're outraged at this blatant censorship of a critical journalist, and
call on Zanzibar authorities to allow Jabir Idrissa to resume working
immediately," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. "Under the cover of an
'accreditation' law, Zanzibar's government is actually licensing
journalists-and, in this case, silencing one. We call on the government to
eliminate the accreditation requirement."
Local journalists say that the Zanzibar authorities are seeking to further
muzzle the press in the run-up general elections in October. The ruling CCM
party faces a strong challenge on Zanzibar from the opposition CUF party.
Previous elections there have often been marked by political violence.
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or Research Associate Alexis Arieff at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
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