Tanzania newspaper returns after three-year ban
The Swahili-language independent weekly newspaper Mwanahalisi was ordered to close in July 2012, but the ban was overturned after an appeal in the High Court in Dar es Salaam earlier this month.
"We're back," the newspaper's headline read on Tuesday, saying it would publish investigative articles without "favouring anybody."
The Committee to Protect Journalists has criticised Tanzania for often relying "on an arsenal of anti-media laws" that allows the information ministry "wide discretionary powers to ban" publications.
Media Council of Tanzania head Kajubi Mukajanga said the ruling was "a warning to all those who want to use obsolete laws to suppress press freedom."
The newspaper was suspended after reporting on a doctors' strike, in which a union leader beaten by unknown attackers later accused the security forces of the assault.
Mwanahalisi was previously banned in 2008 for three months for allegedly publishing "seditious" articles.
The newspaper's return comes as campaigning heats up ahead of general elections on 25 October.
John Magufuli, the candidate of the long-ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, is hoping to succeed President Jakaya Kikwete, who is stepping down.
Civil society organisations, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition, have accused the state-run media of focusing its coverage on the CCM party and ignoring opposition rallies.
The CCM party has dominated politics since modern Tanzania was formed in 1964. It has two-thirds of seats in the current parliament.
Source: AFP
Source: I-Net Bridge
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