Mbeya – Kyela FM Radio says two journalists from its morning programme, Tumsifu Katina and Emmy Eliud, were detained by police in Mbeya on Tuesday, April 15, after being taken from the station’s offices in Kyela while carrying out their work.
According to the station’s statement, the pair were taken at about 3 p.m. from the broadcaster’s premises on Mikoroshoni Street, and police had not publicly given a reason for the arrests by the time the statement was issued.
The station said: “Management is continuing to follow up closely to know the reasons for their detention,” while urging listeners and stakeholders to remain calm.
The detentions came shortly after the presenters discussed whether Tanzania should tighten the qualifications required to become a member of parliament, during a segment linked to public anger over a proposal by Tanganyika MP (CCM), Seleman Kakoso, for a new levy on mobile phone communications to help fund road infrastructure.
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During that programme, Katina said one requirement for lawmakers should be “the ability of an MP to think more deeply,” arguing that an elected representative ceases to be a defender of the public if he suggests new deductions from citizens already struggling with the cost of living.
No immediate police statement on the Kyela case was publicly available at the time of publication.
The Mbeya detentions, however, are not an isolated incident. On March 27, 2026, for example, two Lumeni Radio journalists in Karatu were detained after a report on rising dam water levels.
Authorities also suspended Jambo TV for 90 days over posts questioning an inquiry into post-election killings in a move that stakeholders have argued “serves only to stifle public debate on matters of critical national importance,” and urged the authorities to let journalists report “without fear of reprisal.”
READ MORE: Study Paints Gloomy Picture for Tanzania’s Journalists
More broadly, Reporters Without Borders ranks Tanzania 95th out of 180 countries in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index and says journalists who criticise the authorities risk “suspensions and arrest.”
Media stakeholders have argued that this environment has a stronger chilling effect on local reporting and public-interest debate, affecting journalists’ ability to do their job as well as citizens’ right to be informed about what’s happening in their country.
