Five persons have been arraigned before a magistrate court in Tanzania for abusing the President, John Magufuli on social media.
The accused who were charged separately are: Mr. Dennis Temu, Mr. Suleiman Nassoro, Ms. Shakira Makame, Mr. Juma Mtatuu and Mr. Dennis Mtegwa. They were charged with sharing offensive content targeted at the police force and the president which is at odds with section 118 (a) of the electronic and postal communication Act No. 3 of 2010.
While Mr. Dennis Mtegwa is accused of abusing the President in a WhatsApp discussion group, the other four persons were slammed with attempting to turn the public against the police force. The five denied the charges and are currently free on bail.
Tanzanians and the international community have the electronic and postal communication act which they said is a brazen attempt to gag social media and limit free speech.
