Viral animated clip causes uproar among Tanzanian Netizens
By Doreen Wamugunda
A viral animated clip published by the Tanzanian media company, Mwananchi Communications Ltd. (MCL) has been the subject of consistent online debate this past week.
The animated video clip depicted a woman flipping through television channels where various people were appealing for their kidnapped children to be returned.
Although the clip did not explicitly name the characters, it was widely interpreted as a representation of Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu turning a deaf ear to the requests of Tanzanian citizens whose children have disappeared in the recent wave of abductions in the country.
Shortly after the clip went viral, Mwananchi Communications Ltd pulled it down from all their platforms.
The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) yesterday issued a 30-day suspension of all the online activities of Mwananchi Communications.
The regulating body stated that the media company had violated the Electronics and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations by publishing prohibited content on their online platforms.
The move by TCRA has elicited mixed reactions from online audiences with some supporting the regulator’s role as a content regulator while others consider it an unnecessary action.
One user, @mczedec took to X to support Mwananchi Communications role in speaking up for Tanzanian citizens.
“You are a great media house. Thank you for being the voice of the voiceless. Keep up the good work for the betterment of our tomorrow.”
Another user, @eucarmiles pointed out that the suspension was a threat to media freedoms.
“Media freedoms are being curtailed by those who should be protecting them.”
Some netizens however supported the suspension stating that the media company had overstepped their mandate.
One user @PrincessKate called out the media company for biased reporting of the current situation.
“The Citizen_TZ ni gazeti au chama cha upinzani? Halizingatii kabisa maadili ya uandishi wa habari, linaanzisha mambo bila kubalance story, kazi yake ni moja tu, kuegemea.” (Is The Citizen_TZ a newspaper or an opposition party? It does not adhere to journalistic ethics, it raises issues without balancing the story, its job is only one, to lean.)
Additionally, another user @Kendrick Meshack pointed out that the media company had disrespected the presidency by posting the said clip.
“Suala sio uhuru wa habari. Suala ni kuwa na adabu dhidi ya Rais.” (The issue is not freedom of the press. The issue is respect for the president.”
Following the suspension, Mwananchi Communications, which is a subsidiary of Nation Media Group (NMG), issued a statement assuring its audiences that it will continue to publish news content through daily print editions and other offline forums.
