Tanzania faces foreign criticism over suspending newspaper

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania – Tanzania’s government is facing international criticism over its suspension of a widely read local newspaper that reported on the depreciation of the country’s currency.

Some European ambassadors in Tanzania have asked in Twitter posts: “Is this sanction proportionate to the offence purportedly committed?”

President John Magufuli’s government on Wednesday suspended The Citizen newspaper for seven days, citing a Feb. 23 story on the fall of the Tanzania shilling against the dollar.

Tanzania’s registrar of newspapers, Patrick Kipangala, accused the privately owned daily of publishing the article “without following the due procedure and financial standards set by the Bank of Tanzania.”

The bank has not issued a statement on the matter.

Since Magufuli’s election in 2015 several newspapers seen as critical of his administration have been shut down.