(MISA/IFEX) – Managing director of Guardian Limited Vumi Urasa, who owns the newspapers “Kasheshe” and “Tingisha”, has apologised to the government for publishing and distributing “Tingisha” four days after the government had suspended “Kasheshe”. **Updates IFEX alerts dated 24, 15, 12 and 9 June 1998** According to a government statement released by Tanzania Information Services […]
(MISA/IFEX) – Managing director of Guardian Limited Vumi Urasa, who owns the
newspapers “Kasheshe” and “Tingisha”, has apologised to the government for
publishing and distributing “Tingisha” four days after the government had
suspended “Kasheshe”.
**Updates IFEX alerts dated 24, 15, 12 and 9 June 1998**
According to a government statement released by Tanzania Information
Services (TIS) on 7 July 1998, Urasa wrote a letter of apology to Minister
of Information Kingunge Ngombale-Mwiru. In the letter, Urasa accepted that
his company had made a mistake to publish and distribute “Tingisha”, which
contained contents the same as those in the banned “Kasheshe”.
According to the statement, Urasa said, “it is true the editor of
`Tingisha’ is the one who used to edit `Kasheshe’. We had to launch
`Tingisha’ because we found ourselves in a situation where more than 30
workers remained idle and without a reliable source of income”.
“We accept that one day after we requested the minister responsible for
information in Dodoma to lift the ban imposed on `Kasheshe’, Radio One aired
advertisements for the launching of the paper (`Tingisha’) on June 12, which
said that the contents in the tabloid were exactly what `Kasheshe’ used to
contain.”
Urasa added: “We really feel sorry for the interpretation of the Prime
Minister’s Office responsible for information which shows that my intention
to request the minister to lift the ban imposed on `Kasheshe’ was meant to
ignore the government’s decision against `Kasheshe’.”
Background Information
On 6 June, Minister Ngombale-Mwiru, in individual letters to “Kasheshe”,
“Chombeza” and “Arusha Leo” newspapers, informed them that they had been
banned with effect from 8 June in terms of the Newspaper Act, No. 3 of 1976
because of their “persistent featuring of pornographic cartoons and
unethical articles”. On 10 June, Kunta Enterprises International (TZ)
Limited, which owns “Arusha Leo” and “Chombeza”, revived a defunct newspaper
in its stable, “Watu”, to make up for the ban on the two papers. “Watu”,
which was legally registered in the early 90s but closed down in 1995, was
back on the streets containing articles and features that would have
appeared in the two banned papers. On 12 June, Guardian Limited undertook a
similar move when it revived the defunct “Tingisha”, to make up for the ban
on “Kasheshe”. However, on 22 June, the government banned both “Watu” and
“Tingisha” in terms of the Newspaper Act No. 3 of 1976 and the Newspaper
Regulations of 1977 (see IFEX alerts).
