The Government of Tanzania has criticized CNN and several other international media outlets over their recent reports on the events that followed the October 29 election.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, Government Spokesperson Gerson Msigwa said the CNN documentary and similar stories by BBC, Al-Jazeera and Deutsche Welle did not follow basic journalism standards.

Msigwa said the reports were one-sided and amounted to a deliberate violation of media ethics.

“What CNN has done and what other international outlets like BBC, Al-Jazeera and Deutsche Welle have also done is not right and does not align with the principles and ethics of journalism. This is a serious and deliberate violation,” Msigwa said.

He called on foreign media to avoid interfering with the ongoing probe into the post-election violence. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has already formed an Independent Inquiry Commission to investigate what happened.

“If any media house has investigation findings, it should submit them to the commission,” Msigwa added.

His statement comes two days after the Ministry of Information announced that the government is still reviewing CNN’s investigation, which alleged the existence of a possible mass grave at Kondo cemetery in Dar es Salaam.

CNN reported that bodies of protesters killed during the post-election unrest may have been buried secretly, citing satellite images, doctors’ accounts and video evidence. The report also highlighted overflowing morgues in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza and raised questions about the true number of people killed.

The government says it will issue an official response once the review of the CNN documentary is complete.