Amnesty International has called on the government of Tanzania to free the country investigative journalist, Erick Kabendera, who has been in detention since July 29.
In a press statement made available to The Next Edition, Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, Joan Nyanyuki, advised the government of Tanzania to release Kabendera immediately and unconditionally.
She said: “The arrest of Erick Kabendera is an assault on press freedom and further underlines the rising repression of journalists and perceived government critics in Tanzania, where people have been killed, physically assaulted, threatened, harassed or abducted for expressing their views.”
According to the statement, Kabendera was taken by six men in plainclothes from his home in Dar es Salaam on July 29, 2019, without explanation, family sources said. The following day, police called a press conference and announced he was being held in relation to his citizenship.
Nyanyuki described the arrest as outrageous and demanded for his unconditional release.“It is outrageous for the police to arrest the journalist and hold him incommunicado for more than 24 hours, then claim they are querying his citizenship. Erick Kabendera must be released immediately and unconditionally.”