Tanzania banned a leading newspaper’s online operations on Thursday after it published cartoons depicting the president and referring to recent dissident abductions and executions.
The Citizen created an animated film earlier this week depicting President Samia Suluhu Hassan watching news broadcasts about dissidents and victims of state repression.
Hassan has faced growing local and international condemnation over suspicions that security officials are responsible for the kidnapping and murder of opposition figures.
Since August, her government has banned two large rallies by the opposition Chadema party, and its leaders have been briefly detained.
The Citizen, one of the most influential English-language newspapers, announced on Wednesday that its online operations had been suspended for 30 days.
The ruling came from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, which described the clips as presenting “negative interpretations for the nation, something that affects and undermines national unity, peace and cohesion”.The paper had already removed the animations, saying in a separate statement that it did so because of “the misinterpretation it has generated”.Hassan took power after the sudden death of her authoritarian predecessor John Magufuli in 2021. She was initially feted for removing restrictions on opposition rallies and the media.
But rights groups and Western governments, including the United States, have criticised what they see as renewed repression ahead of local elections in November and a general election in late 2025.
One of the people featured in the animated videos was the father of artist Shadrack Chaula who was sentenced to two years in July after burning Hassan’s picture.
The father is heard saying “dead or alive… I want to see my child”, while Hassan watches from the sofa.