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- Feb 12, 2008
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22 October 2013 , By Sarah Hermitage, Source:
African Arguments
In September President Kikwete of Tanzania was
among ten African leaders to attend a meeting in
New York organised by President Obama for
heads of state and civil society organisations
committed to promoting good governance.
The meeting also called for the scrapping of
regulations which hinder the performance of civil
society in improving transparency, accountability
and 'good governance'.
In his opening speech Obama showered Kikwete
with praise - referring to him as "a true brother
and a friend" for his efforts promoting
transparency and good governance in Tanzania -
this being one of the few countries in the world
to have signed a charter on government that
strives towards transparency and good
governance.
These comments reiterate those bestowed on
Kikwete during Obama's visit to Tanzania in July
2013, where he met with business leaders to
discuss investment, trade and economic growth.
Obama again commended Kikwete for his 'good
and transparent governance', noting that civil
society groups and journalists were doing their
part to advance democracy and prosperity in the
country.
Obama stated that he had confidence in
Kikwete's government and that Tanzania had the
potential to unlock new economic growth across
the East Africa region. However, he failed to
acknowledge that, despite the high levels of
growth in Tanzania over recent years, this has
not resulted in a decrease in poverty..
The United States, which in 2012 gave Tanzania
more than $480 million in aid, is vocal about its
commitment to stand with people and
governments that aspire to freedom and
democracy.
To this end, the US produces annual Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, which cover
internationally recognized individual, civil,
political, and worker rights, as set forth in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights .
In the Secretary of State's preface to the 2012
report, John Kerry writes how valuable the
reports are to the US State Department and
federal agencies which direct US foreign policy,
as well as members of Congress, the academic
community, activists, students, journalists,
lawyers, judges, foreign governments, and
concerned citizens everywhere.
The heart of good governance is indeed
transparency, a free press and the objective
application of the rule of law - all the things
Obama commends about Tanzania's current
governance regime.
However, had Obama done his homework he
would have found that the country remains
riddled with corruption, state-led brutality and a
draconian approach to press freedom that should
not attract the support and confidence of the
President of the United States.
The 2012 Human Rights Report for Tanzania
states that the three most widespread and
systemic human rights problems in the country
were excessive use of force by security forces
resulting in deaths and injuries, restrictions on
political expression and a lack of access to
justice.
A special report by Tom Rhodes - The invisible
plight of the Tanzanian Press - Nairobi
consultant for the Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ), states that whilst the
Tanzanian government enjoys good international
publicity for transparency, domestic discontent is
simply not being picked up.
Rhodes outlines how the CPJ has documented
10 serious anti-press attacks and threats since
September 2012, which he states is a notable
jump over historical trends in the country. He
describes one of the attacks on an editor of the
outspoken newspaper the Tanzania Daima,
Absalom Kibanda;
"It took all of five minutes for two assailants to
carry out the horrific attack on the editor lopping
off the top of his right ring finger, piercing his
left eye, and prying out several teeth and
fingernails.
Kabana's cell phone and national identity card
were taken, but his cash-filled wallet and iPad
were left behind, signs the March assault was
motivated by something other than robbery"
This attack followed the unspeakable murder of
veteran cameraman and journalist Daudi
Mwangosi in September 2012, who was killed
covering an opposition rally in a rural area
outside Iringa. Police fired a tear gas canister at
him at close range and continued to beat his
body to a pulp in the dirt.
Despite very clear video evidence of the attack,
no officer has yet been convicted of Mwangosi's
murder. Unsurprising perhaps given the recent
statements by Kikwete's close friend Prime
Minister Mizengo Pinda, who declared in a
Parliamentary question time that it was his
government's policy to beat, beat and beat
again, trouble makers in the country.
On any level, this was an extraordinary and
serious statement by Pinda, particularly given
the increase in violence and extra-judicial killings
taking place in Tanzania.
More extraordinary is the fact that Kikwete
ignored the incident and Pinda remains in office.
Pinda's actions and Kikwete's inaction send a
powerful message of impunity to the brutal,
corrupt and unaccountable police and security
services in Tanzania and invoke fear in those
that seek to promote human rights in the
country.
This is evidenced by last month's suspension of
two of Tanzania's more respected newspapers;
the Swahili dailies Mwananchi and MTanzania,
which were banned by the government for 14
and 90 days respectively on accusations of
sedition.
In his article A step backwards on the road to
democracy, blogger Ben Taylor gives an excellent
account of the circumstances of the bans, which
the Tanzanian government said were in response
to the papers' "practice of writing news and
features that are inflammatory and hostile with
the intention of causing citizens to lose
confidence in state organs, and as such putting
the country's peace and cohesion in danger."
Both papers have, in the past, taken a critical
stance towards government policy; each
receiving a number of warnings.
As Taylor points out, at a time when lucrative
gas and mining contracts are being negotiated in
Tanzania, when Chinese investment is pouring
into the country and when Tanzania's politics
are more competitive than ever before, the
country desperately needs a media that is not
afraid to speak up.
Tanzania's reputation as an island of relative
peace, democracy and good governance is
becoming harder and harder to justify. The
reality, argues Willibrod Slaa, Secretary General
of the opposition 'Chadema' party, is that whilst
the international community believes there is
peace in Tanzania, in reality "There is fear, not
peace."
In a recent press release , Article 19 (a media
NGO which promotes freedom of speech and
expression) states: "Attacking media freedom is
to attack the very bedrock of democracy.
This is deeply troubling at a time when Tanzania
is drafting a new constitution. The new
Constitution must protect freedom of expression.
Depriving people of vital information at such a
defining moment in the country's history denies
them the opportunity to fully participate in
shaping their own future".
The two bans come 14 months after the
government issued an indefinite ban on the
publication of another newspaper Mwanahalisi
under section 25(1) of the 1976 Newspaper Act.
So much for Kikwete's signing of the good
governance Charter for which he was praised by
Obama.
It seems unlikely that the US State Department
is not aware of the reports detailing the serious
and deteriorating situation in respect of human
rights in the country, or the contents of its own
Human Rights Report.
Tanzania has failed absolutely to strengthen a
rules based international order with institutions
such as the police and judiciary being continually
voted amongst the most corrupt in East Africa.
Good governance, civil society and the
institutions that support it take decades to build.
They are not aided by Western governments
showering praise and aid on overtly brutal,
corrupt and ineffective governments.
If the Obama administration is, as it says,
committed to protecting human rights and
supporting multilateral institutions around the
world, why is it so vocally committed to
Kikwete's poor governance?
A clue may be in his closing press conference
where he stated "African consumers are spending
more and creating new markets where we can all
sell our goods ... more growth and opportunity in
Africa can mean more growth and opportunity in
the United States."
Sarah Hermitage is a British Lawyer and anti-
corruption activist.
Source: m.allafrica.comstories/201310221532.html/
African Arguments
In September President Kikwete of Tanzania was
among ten African leaders to attend a meeting in
New York organised by President Obama for
heads of state and civil society organisations
committed to promoting good governance.
The meeting also called for the scrapping of
regulations which hinder the performance of civil
society in improving transparency, accountability
and 'good governance'.
In his opening speech Obama showered Kikwete
with praise - referring to him as "a true brother
and a friend" for his efforts promoting
transparency and good governance in Tanzania -
this being one of the few countries in the world
to have signed a charter on government that
strives towards transparency and good
governance.
These comments reiterate those bestowed on
Kikwete during Obama's visit to Tanzania in July
2013, where he met with business leaders to
discuss investment, trade and economic growth.
Obama again commended Kikwete for his 'good
and transparent governance', noting that civil
society groups and journalists were doing their
part to advance democracy and prosperity in the
country.
Obama stated that he had confidence in
Kikwete's government and that Tanzania had the
potential to unlock new economic growth across
the East Africa region. However, he failed to
acknowledge that, despite the high levels of
growth in Tanzania over recent years, this has
not resulted in a decrease in poverty..
The United States, which in 2012 gave Tanzania
more than $480 million in aid, is vocal about its
commitment to stand with people and
governments that aspire to freedom and
democracy.
To this end, the US produces annual Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, which cover
internationally recognized individual, civil,
political, and worker rights, as set forth in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights .
In the Secretary of State's preface to the 2012
report, John Kerry writes how valuable the
reports are to the US State Department and
federal agencies which direct US foreign policy,
as well as members of Congress, the academic
community, activists, students, journalists,
lawyers, judges, foreign governments, and
concerned citizens everywhere.
The heart of good governance is indeed
transparency, a free press and the objective
application of the rule of law - all the things
Obama commends about Tanzania's current
governance regime.
However, had Obama done his homework he
would have found that the country remains
riddled with corruption, state-led brutality and a
draconian approach to press freedom that should
not attract the support and confidence of the
President of the United States.
The 2012 Human Rights Report for Tanzania
states that the three most widespread and
systemic human rights problems in the country
were excessive use of force by security forces
resulting in deaths and injuries, restrictions on
political expression and a lack of access to
justice.
A special report by Tom Rhodes - The invisible
plight of the Tanzanian Press - Nairobi
consultant for the Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ), states that whilst the
Tanzanian government enjoys good international
publicity for transparency, domestic discontent is
simply not being picked up.
Rhodes outlines how the CPJ has documented
10 serious anti-press attacks and threats since
September 2012, which he states is a notable
jump over historical trends in the country. He
describes one of the attacks on an editor of the
outspoken newspaper the Tanzania Daima,
Absalom Kibanda;
"It took all of five minutes for two assailants to
carry out the horrific attack on the editor lopping
off the top of his right ring finger, piercing his
left eye, and prying out several teeth and
fingernails.
Kabana's cell phone and national identity card
were taken, but his cash-filled wallet and iPad
were left behind, signs the March assault was
motivated by something other than robbery"
This attack followed the unspeakable murder of
veteran cameraman and journalist Daudi
Mwangosi in September 2012, who was killed
covering an opposition rally in a rural area
outside Iringa. Police fired a tear gas canister at
him at close range and continued to beat his
body to a pulp in the dirt.
Despite very clear video evidence of the attack,
no officer has yet been convicted of Mwangosi's
murder. Unsurprising perhaps given the recent
statements by Kikwete's close friend Prime
Minister Mizengo Pinda, who declared in a
Parliamentary question time that it was his
government's policy to beat, beat and beat
again, trouble makers in the country.
On any level, this was an extraordinary and
serious statement by Pinda, particularly given
the increase in violence and extra-judicial killings
taking place in Tanzania.
More extraordinary is the fact that Kikwete
ignored the incident and Pinda remains in office.
Pinda's actions and Kikwete's inaction send a
powerful message of impunity to the brutal,
corrupt and unaccountable police and security
services in Tanzania and invoke fear in those
that seek to promote human rights in the
country.
This is evidenced by last month's suspension of
two of Tanzania's more respected newspapers;
the Swahili dailies Mwananchi and MTanzania,
which were banned by the government for 14
and 90 days respectively on accusations of
sedition.
In his article A step backwards on the road to
democracy, blogger Ben Taylor gives an excellent
account of the circumstances of the bans, which
the Tanzanian government said were in response
to the papers' "practice of writing news and
features that are inflammatory and hostile with
the intention of causing citizens to lose
confidence in state organs, and as such putting
the country's peace and cohesion in danger."
Both papers have, in the past, taken a critical
stance towards government policy; each
receiving a number of warnings.
As Taylor points out, at a time when lucrative
gas and mining contracts are being negotiated in
Tanzania, when Chinese investment is pouring
into the country and when Tanzania's politics
are more competitive than ever before, the
country desperately needs a media that is not
afraid to speak up.
Tanzania's reputation as an island of relative
peace, democracy and good governance is
becoming harder and harder to justify. The
reality, argues Willibrod Slaa, Secretary General
of the opposition 'Chadema' party, is that whilst
the international community believes there is
peace in Tanzania, in reality "There is fear, not
peace."
In a recent press release , Article 19 (a media
NGO which promotes freedom of speech and
expression) states: "Attacking media freedom is
to attack the very bedrock of democracy.
This is deeply troubling at a time when Tanzania
is drafting a new constitution. The new
Constitution must protect freedom of expression.
Depriving people of vital information at such a
defining moment in the country's history denies
them the opportunity to fully participate in
shaping their own future".
The two bans come 14 months after the
government issued an indefinite ban on the
publication of another newspaper Mwanahalisi
under section 25(1) of the 1976 Newspaper Act.
So much for Kikwete's signing of the good
governance Charter for which he was praised by
Obama.
It seems unlikely that the US State Department
is not aware of the reports detailing the serious
and deteriorating situation in respect of human
rights in the country, or the contents of its own
Human Rights Report.
Tanzania has failed absolutely to strengthen a
rules based international order with institutions
such as the police and judiciary being continually
voted amongst the most corrupt in East Africa.
Good governance, civil society and the
institutions that support it take decades to build.
They are not aided by Western governments
showering praise and aid on overtly brutal,
corrupt and ineffective governments.
If the Obama administration is, as it says,
committed to protecting human rights and
supporting multilateral institutions around the
world, why is it so vocally committed to
Kikwete's poor governance?
A clue may be in his closing press conference
where he stated "African consumers are spending
more and creating new markets where we can all
sell our goods ... more growth and opportunity in
Africa can mean more growth and opportunity in
the United States."
Sarah Hermitage is a British Lawyer and anti-
corruption activist.
Source: m.allafrica.comstories/201310221532.html/
