(MISA/IFEX) – Two men are being held in Dar-es-Salaam in connection with cassettes containing allegedly defamatory statements about deceased former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. On 4 November 1999, police in Arusha arrested Ambokile Malele and confiscated sixteen cassettes. Malele reportedly was selling the cassettes on the street at the time of his arrest. On 9 […]
(MISA/IFEX) – Two men are being held in Dar-es-Salaam in connection with
cassettes containing allegedly defamatory statements about deceased former
Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere.
On 4 November 1999, police in Arusha arrested Ambokile Malele and
confiscated sixteen cassettes. Malele reportedly was selling the cassettes
on the street at the time of his arrest. On 9 November, Malele was
transferred to Dar-es-Salaam after newspapers widely reported statements by
a political activist, Reverend Christopher Mtikila, that he (Mtikila) was
the one who had recorded and produced the cassettes and was therefore
responsible for it. On 9 November, police in Dar-es-Salaam arrested Mtikila.
On 15 November, Mtikila and Malele appeared in the Kisutu Magistrate’s Court
in Dar-es-Salaam, where their case was adjourned to 29 November. An
application for bail for the two was opposed by the state on the grounds
that people were still mourning the death of Nyerere and hence the lives of
the two accused would be in danger if they were released. The magistrate
agreed and the two were remanded in custody.
Among the charges the two are facing are publishing words with seditious
intent, and publishing statements with the intention to bring into contempt
or excite dissatisfaction against the lawful authorities of the United
Republic or the government thereof.
Mtikila, who heads the unregistered Democratic Party, is well known for
producing cassettes on which he records speeches and political statements
that often include highly critical diatribes against opposition politicians.
The tapes are normally distributed free of charge to journalists and members
of parliament.
