‘Report What You See’: US-based Muganda reminds Tanzanian journalists of their duty

During his years at VOA, he was leading the Kiswahili bureau at a time when Rwanda was engulfed in unimaginable horror.

Machete-wielding militia descended on innocent civilians. Neighbours turned on neighbours.

Mr Muganda had a reporter on the ground covering events from Kigali.

He recalls calling the reporter repeatedly, urging him to describe what he had seen with his own eyes.

“I asked him if he had personally witnessed the murders,” he says.

The reporter hesitated. He attempted to narrate the violence without directly admitting the scale of what was unfolding around him.

Only when he finally confessed that he had indeed seen people being slaughtered did Mr Muganda told him to report exactly that, because it was a matter of life and death and the world needed to know.

When Rwanda began its long process of recovery, investigators and historians pointed fingers at a local radio station for fuelling the killings.

 Its broadcasts incited hatred. Its rhetoric set the stage for the genocide.

Fast-forward almost three decades later to Tanzania on October 29, 2025.

As chaos erupted during the General Election, he watched the events from afar with a sense of unease. He remembered Rwanda. He remembered the silence, the fear, and the power of media to either shed light or plunge a nation deeper into darkness.

At one stage, as tensions rose across the country, several local media houses went silent. Some simply loop-played music instead of reporting what was happening at polling stations.

To Mr Muganda, the two situations are not even close. “In Rwanda, the media actively called for the killings of people,” he says firmly.

“In our case, it was an election. The role of the media was straightforward. Journalists were expected to report what was taking place at polling stations and in the streets.”

Even after retirement, he has never disconnected from his homeland.

From his residence in Maryland, he follows Tanzanian news every day. For him and thousands of Tanzanians living abroad, the media is not only a source of information it is their lifeline to the country.

This is why a recent wave of rumours unsettled the diaspora.

Stories circulated on social media claiming that returning Tanzanians abroad would have their passports confiscated at Julius Nyerere International Airport or any port of entry.

Some messages alleged that their money would be seized as well. Panic spread.

Families sent frantic messages to one another.

It was only when the immigration department issued a public statement dismissing the claims that calm began to return.

“For me, I will always return home regardless of the situation,” he says with a shrug. Travelling back to Tanzania is not optional for him. He must see friends and relatives, and he must read local newspapers.

Yet his relationship with Tanzanian media has shifted over the years.

“I used to read many local newspapers,” he says. “But recently, I feel many have been compromised. They have stopped reporting factual, unbiased news. I suspect some have been ‘bought’.”

He says he has no issue with journalists having political affiliations. What he rejects is the idea that a journalist’s loyalties should dictate what they report.

“I am a Democrat,” he says. “And I had friends who were Republicans. We would go to rallies together and still report objectively.”

For him, professionalism is defined by one principle. You report what you see, even if the truth opposes your political alignment. It does not make you disloyal. It makes you credible.

Despite Mr Muganda’s frustrations the election period placed unprecedented pressure on Tanzanian media houses.

Firstly the nationwide internet shutdown paralysed media operations. Most of these media depend on the reliable internet connections to receive news article and images from their reporters on the ground countrywide.

The country’s shutdown and the ensuring 06pm curfew meant that reporters’ movements were highly restricted.

And the fact that the Police started using live bullets meant that the lives of journalists were highly at risk which meant media operations had to stop.

Yet many Tanzanians, both at home and abroad, still fault local media for the limited flow of news.

“I blame the media too, for failing to report,” he states.

Several international media houses did not receive accreditation on time and were therefore absent.

The diaspora, who watched events anxiously, had expected to get their news from Tanzanian journalists for credible information. Instead, many resorted to WhatsApp groups—chaotic forums prone to misinformation, exaggeration, and speculation.

With fake news spreading like wildfire, Mr Muganda wonders how ordinary people can tell truth from fabrication.

“You, the Tanzanian media, were supposed to inform us,” he says. “Instead, foreign media took your place and addressed your audience.”

With the vacuum left by local media, broadcasters from neighbouring countries stepped in to report on Tanzania’s turmoil. Their coverage has since been debated, some elements accurate, others sensationalised.

But for those living abroad, these external voices became their only window into the unfolding events.

Even within the diaspora, divisions remain. Some believe the destruction of public and private property was completely unwarranted.

The burning of Rapid Buses, the destruction of infrastructure, and the torching of businesses hurt ordinary citizens who depended on them for their livelihood.

Others argue that the people had the right to express their frustration in whatever form they felt necessary.

What is not in dispute is that trust in Tanzanian media within the diaspora has been severely shaken. Rebuilding that trust, Mr Muganda says, will require honest and deliberate steps.

“It’s not just this election,” he says. “The quality of reporting has dropped across the board. And those of us in the diaspora are dismayed.”

He points to examples from abroad. “Start writing stories that question those in power. Even here in the US, journalists report on Trump, even when he calls them fake news.”

As a former newsroom leader, he understands the difficulties journalists faced during the recent election. Many reporters could not send updates from polling stations. Communication was difficult. Equipment was limited. Security concerns loomed large.

“I understand when working conditions make it hard for a journalist to do their job,” he says. “But that shouldn’t lead to biased articles praising one side.”

He has gradually withdrawn from reading Tanzanian newspapers he considers one-sided.

What troubles him even more is the decline of investigative journalism. He does not believe it is a question of training or technical capacity. He believes it is a question of courage.

“Journalists have failed, or fear, to ask those in power the right questions,” he says. “When you don’t do that, you become their mouthpiece.”

The videos of what transpired during the elections are widely available online. For him, this should mark the beginning of a new phase, one of serious investigative work.

He argues that the media must dig deeper, hold perpetrators accountable, and help the country move towards healing and reconciliation.

“For the nation to move on, we have to address what happened. Otherwise, it will happen again,” he says.

He believes the media has a dual responsibility, exposing wrongdoing and helping bring the country together as it rebuilds.

Tanzania’s global image has been bruised by the videos and photographs that circulated widely on social media. But he believes it is not too late to restore it.

Some have suggested that certain members of the diaspora played a role in fuelling unrest.

Mr Muganda doubts this. He believes only a handful of social media influencers based in the United States played an active part in incitement. Most Tanzanians abroad were simply frightened for the safety of their loved ones and watched events helplessly.

He remembers a different era in Tanzanian journalism.

After independence, he says, all local media were state-owned, from the radio to the newspapers. Yet even then, people found ways to stay informed.

“People talk,” he says. “Even without social media, information spread.”

He believes the private media must learn from the recent turmoil. The lesson, he says, is painful but essential.

Tanzanian media should study how journalists in other countries responded to election-related violence, how they rebuilt public trust, restored credibility, and regained their integrity.

“Only then can Tanzanian media find its own path forward,” he says.

The road ahead will be long, but it is a path that must be taken—for the sake of the nation, and for the sake of journalism itself.