Thursday 9 August 2012

[wanabidii] Re: APPEAL ON THE BAN OF MWANAHALISI

On Aug 9, 4:05 am, Ndimara Tegambwage <ndim...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> You are the voice. Join
> us in the fight for our right to communicate and the people's right to know.
>
>
> What could have been the
> reason
> behind the ban of
> MwanaHALISI?
>
> In
> its statement announcing the ban on MwanaHALISI, the government cited three most
> recent issues of the weekly which it said had carried news and feature articles
> which "…created and spread fear in society;" and that they were seditious and
> did not measure to "ethical standards."
>
> The
> three successive issues are No. 302 (July 11 – 17), No. 303 (July 18 – 24) and
> No. 304 July 25 – 31).
>
> Content
> (i)                             Issue
> No. 302:The major
> story was about the deputy national security chief, one Mr. Jack Zoka,
> allegedly being behind a plot "to eliminate critics of government."
>
> The story which links Zoka to the abduction
> and torture of Dr. Steven Ulimboka – leader of doctors on strike against
> government insensitivity in public hospitals – carries a picture of president
> Jakaya Kikwete in a rather tired or resigned or sorrowful mood; and well below,
> a picture of Dk. Ulimboka in bed at an intensive care unit (ICU) of Muhimbili
> National Hospital in Dar es Salaam.
>
> The paper still holds its source of
> story but also quotes leaders of leading opposition Chadema party as alleging
> the same at an august press conference in Dar es Salaam.
>
> It also reports that Dr. Ulimboka still
> insists that a man, who arranged a meeting to where he was abducted, was
> working with the "state house" – office of the president under which operates
> the intelligence services (TISS).
>
> Admittedly, this issue was really
> packed. It contained a two-page article on the doctors' demands and rationale
> for their strike; three pages of analysis of Dk. Ulimboka's abduction and
> torture; and an authoritative editorial comment on the need for an independent commission to
> investigate the matter.
>
> (ii)                          Issue
> No. 303:The major
> story was about Dr. Ulimboka; quoted as insisting that those who abducted and
> tortured him were from the state house.
>
> Photographs accompanying the major
> story included that of the president – looking inwardly and kind of perplexed;
> chief of police in Dar es Salaam,
> Suleiman Kova; and in between a picture of Dr. Ulimboka at ICU.
>
> Besides a front page story, there were
> four other pages devoted to analysis on what befell Dr. Ulimboka.
>
> (iii)                        Issue
> No. 304:This is the most recent issue that must have not only irritated,
> but also embarrassed government and forced it to flex its muscle – banning the
> weekly indefinitely.
>
> The major story was about one Ramadhan
> Ighondu (alias Rama; alias Abeid); identified as an official at the
> intelligence unit (TISS) and one who had been communicating with Dr. Ulimboka
> until his abduction and torture. It details about Rama and reveals telephone
> numbers to which Rama called before and well after the abduction.
>
> A message from a regular reader of
> MwanaHALISI said a day after the clampdown, "You sort of went too far. You threatened
> to link the revealed phone numbers reporting to authority at TISS or the
> executive. When you reach such point, they necessarily must be shocked and block
> or ban you…"
>
> Pictures on the front page included
> that of Dr. Ulimboka at the ICU, President Jakaya Kikwete and chief of
> intelligence, Rashid Othman. Inside pages carrying the same story were
> accompanied by pictures: Minister of State (Good Governance) George Mkuchika
> and Deputy chief of TISS, Jack Zoka.
>
> Besides the report, the issue carried
> among others, one analysis on Dr. Ulimboka; a report on emerging scandal at the
> ministry of energy; and part of a speech by opposition member of parliament –
> on the ministry of internal affairs –
> which, the speaker had ordered not to
> be read in the house.
>
> Since
> the ban of the weekly, voice has been heard from over 30 civil societies in the
> country, condemning government action and calling for immediate withdrawal of
> the order.
>
> This
> is because there are no grounds for the clamp-down. The stories are neither
> seditious nor ethically questionable. They are, if you want, very revealing,
> true and correct – which is all about ethics. They have not been challenged by
> any individual or authority. To defeat them you need to apply a draconian law
> in the form of Newspaper Act (1976), which gives the minister responsible for
> information powers to ban and even deregister any outlet without prior notice and
> without giving any reason.
>
> Some
> media houses, institutions and other fora, conscious of their rights and
> freedoms in this particular area, have held government by the neck, demanding
> immediate lift of the indefinite ban.
>
> A
> good number of members of parliament, religious leaders and individual citizens,
> have expressed disgust at the government action. Their voices have been read in
> independent print media and heard on local and international radio and TV
> stations.
>
> The
> voices are not without cause. To many of its readers, MwanaHALISI has been a
> fountain of information, education and knowledge. They are now missing the
> same.
>
> Your voice matters. Join
> us in the fight for our right to communicate and the people's right to know.
>
>
> *Attached:
> copies of front pages of the three issues.
>
>
>
> Ndimara Tegambwage
> Information and Media Consultant
> P.O. Box 71775, Dar es Salaam
> Tel: 255 (0)713614872
> e-mail: ndim...@yahoo.comwww.ndimara.blogspot.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Forwarded Message -----
> From: halihalisi gazeti <halihalis...@yahoo.com>
> To: "rapu...@mg.co.za" <rapu...@mg.co.za>
>
> Cc: Ndimara Tegambwage <ndim...@yahoo.com>
> Sent: Thursday, August 9, 2012 1:47 PM
> Subject: APPEAL
>
>
>
>  Issue
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>  issue
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