Tanzania: TEF chairman Kibanda ruthlessly attacked by unknown assailants
By Elias Mhegera – It is still not yet clear as to why and who conducted brutal attack to the chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF), Mr Absalom Kibanda.
Mr Kibanda was attacked by unknown thugs in the dawn of March 6th, 2013. He is currently admitted at the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg after being referred there from the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH)’s Orthopaedic Institute (Moi).
The Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRD-Coalition) an amalgamation of more than 70 human rights NGOs, joined hand stakeholders to condemn this heinous attack.
Joining hands with political leaders, the Union of Tanzania Press Club (UTPC) the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Tanzania Chapter (MISA-Tan), and the Media Council of Tanzania the THRD strongly condemned this barbaric attack to Mr Kibanda.
The senior editor was attacked while he was heading towards his home at Mbezi Juu in Dar es Salaam. His abductors tortured him ruthlessly struck off his two teethes, one nail and destroyed very badly his left eye.
Kibanda in his hey days and at his bed in Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), before his was flown to South Africa for further treatment
“This is ruthlessness, and barbarism towards a human dignity. After they had fulfilled their desires these thugs abandoned Kibanda about 30 meters from his car to let him suffer unattended,” read the statement signed by the THRD coordinator Onesmo Olengurumwa.
He added that investigation by his coalition has not yet revealed unto the real causes of this act. But preliminary information indicates that to a large extent it is connected with his activities as a human right defender through his journalistic work.
It is in records that Kibanda is still attending a case in the court that is related to his work.
“We are led to believe so because intimidations towards journalists and other human rights defenders is now becoming a common trend, a phenomenon that never existed previously” he commented.
Reading the statement to Shout-Africa.com, Olengurumwa said that within the past 10 months there have been incidents of intimidations, and killings and the aggrieved of these occurrences are up to 10 people.
He warned that these incidents indicate that there is a deliberate attempt to silence the voices of defenders of the downtrodden in the pretext of other concocted reasons.
For instance, at times it is reported that they are normal criminal occurrences, reprisals, to matrimonial and love affairs. “It is obvious whoever are doing so are bent to tarnish the good image that this country enjoys in the International Community, with calculated self-centered interests.” He warned.
Moreover he added that while this is happening, the THRD-Coalition is still following closely the fate of an indefinite ban on Mwanahalisi a Kiswahili newspaper which occurred in July 31, 2012.
He revealed that his organization was not satisfied by the circumstances that led to an arrest of journalists working with another Kiswahili daily, Tanzania Daima in their newsroom on the account that they have been inciting through their stories.
“We at this juncture, pose and ask, what has the Police Force done so far concerning the abduction and torture of Dr Stephen Ulimboka? This is because the nature and style of this abduction is similar to what happened to Dr Ulimboka. What had been effected is just the ban of Mwanahalisi, a news paper which had stood in the forefront to get the inside of this abduction, why this similarity?
“…Will the Police Force start with investigations on Dr Ulimboka or it will just rush to this most recent incident? We do have a series of such nasty occurrences against defenders and journalists which remain unattended,” he charged.
Mr Absalom Kibanda, the chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF)
A research by Shout-Africa.com detected that a good number of female journalists are now scared and horrified as they revealed during morning newspaper previews in various radio stations.
Still fresh in mind was the killing of Daudi Mwangosi a TV journalist which happened last year when he was blown allegedly by a teargas canister by the Police Force through it Field Force Unit (FFU) when they were dispersing a political rally that was convened by the main opposition party, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) in the Nyololo village in Iringa region early September last year.
This and other similar incidents have made many people tpo condemn the Police Force that it is used as a political tool in favour of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) which has lingered in power for more than 50 years now.
In reference to this trend Olengurumwa had this to comment, “we do not intend to infringe on the work of the Police Force, but at the same time we will not tolerate seeing journalists and other defenders working unsecured.”
He counseled that the government and whoever is upset by the media should use other tentative and feasible methods of dealing with unethical conducts of media professionals.
For instance, there is the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) which has the task of resolving conflicts emanating from unprofessional conduct, and if the aggrieved are unsatisfied they can as well pursue such matters in the court of law.
The THRD coordinator, a lawyer and researcher said that what is more perplexing is to see that police officials arrest journalists while they are inside their newsroom, as they did to a journalist Josephat Isango and editors of his news paper Tanzania Daima, by searching at his residence and seized his belongings including personal documents.
Abrupt querying as has been done to Editors Charles Misango and Edson Kamukara all of the same newspaper, and whose fate is unknown up to this moment, Olengurumwa said such occurrences could create fear to the fellow professionals and cause severe negative consequences to the media sector countrywide.
“These journalists are horrified. Why should we allow our fellow human beings to live like antelopes in front of lions? For who are security organs established? Why should our fellow human beings be killed, abducted, tortured and humiliated while the security organs take this as a common incident and shift blame amongst each other?,” he asked in a rather sad tone.
Mr Absalom Kibanda, the chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF)
He advanced the following plea to the responsible people:
That whoever is working under special terms of reference in order to attack journalists and other human rights defenders to stop these shameful acts lest they plunge Tanzania to horrific shambles as unprecedented before.
He demanded that the Police Force and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania to assume their role of guaranteeing security to human rights defenders, within its borders without any kind of segregation.
He called for a thorough investigation in order to detect all conspirers of these chain crimes of abduction, torturing and abandoning; since the two incidents, this one and the one of Dr Ulimboka are to a larger extent similar in design.
Moreover, he also called upon the entire community of civilized people to support the noble task of defending the peace, justice and liberty to all people and to the human rights defenders in particular.
He reminded journalists to make all efforts so that they attend security management trainings from the THRD coalition. And that all media outlets and media practitioners to come close at this testing moment as Tanzania is heading towards local government’s elections and the General Elections to follow in 2015.
And lastly he we counseled journalists to avoid being used by unscrupulous power mongers; instead they should stick to their professional ethics.
