The president issued the warning in Shinyanga region when he was inaugurating a soft drinks factory.
According to a press statement issued by the Presidential Communication Directorate at the State House in Dar es Salaam yesterday, President Magufuli said the government would not tolerate newspapers inclined on fomenting hate against the government or those indulging in agitation and incitement, thus putting national stability in jeopardy.
He said that instigating media would naturally lead to the disruption of peace and tranquility in the country as it happened in Rwanda in 1994 prior to genocide.
The president was adamant that he would not let things degenerate to that level on his watch
''Under my administration agitation by the media will absolutely not be tolerated and such papers will have their days numbered.
Tanzania will never be reduced to a dumping site of half-cooked stories full of fabricated information and outright lies,” he warned.
The president clarified that he was not against media criticism of his government nor was he out to gag it.
“There are credible media outlets in the country which abide by professional ethics and make constructive criticism,” Magufuli said.
Stressing the need for peace, the president said not a single investor, both local and foreign, would put their money in a country which was volatile and unstable, a situation which would affect the country’s development.
He said it was peace which made it possible for Fresho factory investors to engage in the in production of foodstuff storage bags and Jambo factory to produce soft drinks.
Reacting to the president’s stern warning to the media, a section of human rights defenders said the head of state was threatening the survival of journalism as a profession, especially its investigative aspect.
Director of Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) Dr Helen Kijo Bisimba expressed shock at the president’s statement, saying “as far as I am concerned, I did not expect to hear such a statement from the head of state”.
“Currently the media fraternity is operating under stressed. Media outlets are not operating in a free environment due such threatening statements. In this sense we are going to kill investigative journalism in this country,” she added.
Bisimba warned that the fear being instilled in the media would curtail its performance, adding that the majority of media outlets would no longer fulfill their obligation for fear of deregistration.
She called on media practitioners to continue fulfilling their obligation as long as they adhered to the ethics and principles of the profession.
“It has reached a point where media outlets are now scared of inviting us to give our reports and analysis just for fear of what might happen next. Where is the freedom of expression? she queried.
For his part, Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) National Coordinator Onesmo Olengurumwa said if the president was irked by the reporting of the two offending newspapers he had the authority to ask relevant authorities to deal with them.
“The media industry has been engulfed in fear and this will not surprise me if someday I see the media failing to accomplish its mission of informing and educating the public,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Magufuli has challenged the Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB) and other financial institutions in the country to issue loans to those interested in industrial investment instead of concentrating on politicians who borrow for personal gain.
He commended Shinyanga regional administration for putting into practice the government’s determination to establish industries in the region including the two factories he opened to mark the end of his working visit to Lake Zone regions.
'African Union to stop recognising Gambian president from January 19'
Yesterday’s decision by the AU's Peace and Security Council comes as West African leaders are visiting Gambia in a last-ditch effort to persuade Jammeh to accept his recent election defeat and step down.
The international community has expressed support for President-elect Adama Barrow, who insists he will take power with his Jan. 19 inauguration. Jammeh's party is contesting the results in court, claiming irregularities.
The AU statement also warns Jammeh of "serious consequences" if his actions lead to political disorder and the "loss of innocent lives." It calls on Gambia's security forces to "exercise utmost restraint" leading up to the inauguration.
Late last month Gambian president Yahya Jammeh said he would not step down and condemned efforts by west African regional leaders to get him to hand over power after he lost an election to challenger Adama Barrow.
The comments on state television were a hardening of the veteran president’s position after days in which hopes mounted he could be persuaded to hand over power at the end of his mandate on 18 January, when Barrow is due to be inaugurated.
“I am not a coward. My right cannot be intimidated and violated. This is my position. Nobody can deprive me of that victory except the Almighty Allah,” Jammeh said.
“Already the Ecowas [economic community of west African states] meeting was a formality. Before they came, they had already said Jammeh must step down. I will not step down,” he said.
Jammeh initially accepted the results of the 1 December election, whose outcome was seen across Africa as a moment of hope. He is accused by human rights groups of the detention, torture and killing of perceived opponents during his 22-year rule.
On 9 December, he reversed his position and said he would challenge in the country’s supreme Court the results of an election he said was riddled with
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