Outdated laws, exorbitant fees, and stifling of dissent have ramped up violations to the right of free expression in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
A man looks at his mobile phone in Tanzania, December 9, 2018. Photo by Riaz Jahanpour, for USAID Tanzania / Digital Development Communications via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
The novel coronavirus was first reported in Tanzania in mid-March 2020, but, after recording up to 509 cases and 21 deaths in late April, the nation announced its status as “coronavirus-free” in June.
Since then, government has been silent on the coronavirus with a strong politic of denial and no data released to the public on infections or deaths.
Today, most activities continue business-as-usual, including Tanzania s tourism industry, attracting thousands of visitors to its airports with few public health protocols in place.