Tanzania Communications Authority (TCRA) through its Content Committee has filed a lawsuit against Jambo Online TV, alleging that the news channel has violated the Electronic and Postal Communications Regulations on Online Content 2020, amended in 2022.
This is due to the broadcast of content by Jambo TV which the authority claims had serious allegations of data infringement without giving the said company a right to reply.
According to a statement issued on October 9, 2024, the Communications Authority through the Director-General of TCRA, claims that on October 1, 2024, Jambo Online TV allegedly aired Mr. Tundu Lissu’s speech, which raised serious allegations against government officials and Tigo.
The speech, which was published online, laid bare serious allegations involving the telecommunications company Tigo, in which Tundu Lissu claimed that Tigo was involved in a plot to track him down before he was attacked.
In his speech, Lissu was quoted as saying, “Tigo were tracking me not only in a normal way, but they used internal monitors to conduct extensive monitoring on me. A former employee of London’s Metropolitan Police was their internal investigator, investigating the actions of Tigo staff. Five days after I was attacked, the informant was heard saying they knew all my information, even where I was.”
TCRA has continued to claim that, the following day on October 2, 2024, Jambo Online TV aired another speech by Mr. Erick Kabendera, a journalist, in which he made strong allegations against Vodacom. Kabendera claimed Vodacom was involved in the plan to kidnap him.
In the speech, Kabendera said: “After three years of investigation, my lawyers and I have gathered evidence that clearly shows that Vodacom Tanzania was involved in a conspiracy to kidnap me. Had it not been for the swift action taken by social media to expose the plot, I would probably have been kidnapped or even killed. This evidence is serious and sufficient to file charges against Vodacom here in Tanzania and even its subsidiaries in South Africa and the UK.”
According to TCRA, Jambo Online TV is accused of violating the Online Content Regulations by airing this content without providing an opportunity for the relevant companies, as well as government officials, to comment or defend themselves. The TCRA said the move not only violated journalistic ethics but also damaged the reputations of public institutions and private companies.
According to TCRA regulations, the act of Jambo Online TV to spread such content violates Rule 9(a), which states that an online content provider must ensure the content broadcast is safe and does not violate any laws of the country. In addition, online content regulations require providers to ensure their content adheres to professional journalistic standards and allow perpetrators to voice their opinions when accused.
The TCRA Content Committee has convened a meeting with the leadership of Jambo Online TV on 17 October 2024 at TCRA headquarters in Dar es Salaam to voice their defence of the allegations. In the letter, TCRA warned that if Jambo Online TV fails to appear in the session, strong legal and regulatory action will be taken against it.
“The Content Committee calls on the Centre for Online TV to submit a written defence and appear before the Committee to explain why legal action should not be taken against it for violating the Online Content Regulations, 2020 as amended in 2022,” said the statement.
