Court Deals Blow to Tanzanian Leader's Tightened Media Laws

(Bloomberg) -- An East African court demanded Tanzania rescind some of President John Magufuli’s most controversial legislation, potentially setting back what critics say is his wide-ranging crackdown on dissent.

Thursday’s ruling by the East African Court of Justice strikes down much of Tanzania’s Media Services Act, passed in 2016, including jail terms for those found guilty of publishing information deemed to threaten national security or the economy. The court, the judicial arm of the six-country East African Community, said the act must be revised to meet the bloc’s principles.

“The court has ruled against almost all the substantive sections of the act,” including provisions on defamation, sedition and censorship, said Ben Taylor, a consultant with Twaweza, a civil society group that promotes governance in several East African countries. “There’s not much left.”

Magufuli, who’s nicknamed the “bulldozer,” has been accused by rights groups of a large-scale crackdown on his opponents and the media since his election in late 2015. This week, Tanzania’s opposition vowed to challenge his February passing of amendments to the Political Parties Act, a move they said will sharply restrict their activities and make the country almost a one-party state.

“The government has no choice but to ensure it executes the judgment,” said Jebra Kambole, one of the lawyers that brought the petition on behalf of the Media Council of Tanzania, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition and the Legal and Human Rights Centre.

The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the ruling, describing it on Twitter as “an important bulwark against the erosion of press freedom in Tanzania and the East African region.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Ken Karuri in Dar es Salaam at kkaruri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Malingha at dmalingha@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Karl Maier

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