Kubenea praises ruling on Mseto

Arusha/Dar. The owner of Mseto newspaper, a weekly tabloid, which was barred from publication in 2016, Mr Saed Kubenea has welcomed the decision by the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to order the government to annul the ban.

He described the court’s decision as a win not only for his company Halihalisi Publishers Limited that publishes Mseto newspaper, but also to all pioneers of freedom of expression.

“I am happy because justice has finally prevailed…it is a win for all of us who fight for freedom of expression,” said Mr Kubenea.

“Our lawyers are on their way from Arusha... after they hand us the copy of the ruling we will convene a meeting to discuss our next course,” he added.

Reached for his comments, Information minister, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, refused to comment saying he was in a meeting, whereas the director of Information Services, Dr Hassan Abbasi - who is also the government spokesperson - did not answer his phone.

On Thursday EACJ ordered the government to immediately lift the ban on Mseto newspaper and to let it resume publication.

The Kiswahili tabloid was banned on August 11, 2016 for a period of 36 months following a notice from then minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports Nape Nnauye over alleged illegalities.

The court, in its ruling after the case was filed before it by its publisher challenging the ban, noted that the government had failed to establish how the publication violated the public interest.

When ordering the ban, the minister alleged that Mseto had pubished inciting and fake information contrary to Section 25 of the Tanzania Newspapers Act of 1976.

But the regional court, in its ruling said the impugned order was made in violation of the right of freedom of expression as provided in the Constitution of Tanzania.

Further, the order derogates from the principles of democracy and adherence to the principles of good governance, the rule of law and social justice, he said.

The court also found that the order banning the newspaper failed to conform with and adhere to the principles of accountability and transparency.

“By issuing the order whimsically and, which was merely his opinion and by failing to recognise the right to freedom of expression and press freedom as a basic human right that should be protected, the minister acted unlawfully,” the East African judicial body said in its ruling.