The Media Council of Tanzania has said that the recent wave of closure of media houses in the country has created fear among journalists that has resulted in self-censorship.

Since the coming of President John Pombe Magufuli into power on November, 2015, Media freedom in Tanzania has been under threat. One of the media violations in the country in this period has been rampant closures of media outlets with six newspapers, three radio stations and four Television stations plus an online platform Jamii Forums being shut down in the last two years.

“The Government does not want to be criticized and because of that, media cannot perform its duties freely and effectively. Media industry in the country has been paralyzed, there is high level of fear and self-censorship,” Paul Mallimbo the Information Officer at Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) said in telephone interview.

MCT’s opinion was also supported by Peter Elias, a journalist working for Mwananchi newspaper.

“The current government is not friendly to the media. So we as journalists are fearful in our reporting. We do protective reporting to be safe,” he said

The six newspapers suspended during president Magufuli’s era includes; Raia Mwema, Mwanahalisi, Mwananchi, Mawio, Nipashe Jumapili and Tanzania Daima. The radios and television stations suspended include, Radio 5, Magic Fm, Times Fm and Televisions includes; Channel Ten, ITV, Star TV and EATV.

Some of the reasons that the government has stated for closing these media houses range from publishing wrong information to publishing information criticizing the existing government for example; the government banned a Swahili tabloid Tanzania Daima for 90 days on October 24 2017 for allegedly publishing false information.

Raia Mwema, a weekly newspaper, was banned from publishing for 90 days on September 29 2017 for publishing an article saying Magufuli was destined to fail in his job and in which it attributed “fabricated” statements to the president.

Mwanahalisi newspaper was shut on September 20 2017 after publishing a letter on Monday from a reader containing "insults" against President John Magufuli and his government. Mwanahalisi, an independent Tanzanian newspaper suspended for two years accused on publishing news which are endangering national security.

Mwananchi newspaper, was suspended by the country's government on September 27 2017 for a period of 14 days for allegedly publishing classified information.

The privately-owned Mawio paper was banned for 24 months on June 15 2017, with the government suspending both its print edition and online platforms. Tanzania’s information minister Harrison Mwakyembe said in a statement (in Kiswahili) that the paper was suspended for publishing the photos of two former presidents Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete on its June 15-21 edition and linking them to a government probe into allegations of misconduct in the mining sector.

Jamii Forums, an online platform, has been temporarily shut down by government as it has not complied with the new regulations and license fees required of online content creators in Tanzania. This comes after Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) issued a notice to Jamii Forums reminding them that it is a legal offense to publish content on the Internet without having registered and paid for a license.

According to Tanzania's new online content regulations, starting from 11 June 2018 it will be illegal to publish content online without the requisite license.