President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s Tanzanian government has arrested two local YouTubers as it steps up a crackdown on dissent ahead of elections in October.
Jackson Kabalo, aged 32, and Joseph Mrindoko, aged 37, were arrested in Maji ya Chai area, Arumeru District of Arusha on Friday for “improper use of social media,” police said in a statement.
The two posted political talk shows on their Wachokonozi YouTube channel, featuring discussions about topics including the national debt, accountability, democracy, elections, and governance.
Initial reports that the duo had been abducted sparked alarm online, particularly because it was unclear which police station they had been taken to. Concerns grew further after it was reported that they were taken by individuals driving a white Land Cruiser, a vehicle commonly linked to previous abduction incidents in the country. The police issued an official statement on June 22, 2025, clarifying the situation.
“On some social media platforms, there have been claims that two individuals were arrested by unknown individuals in the Maji ya Chai area, Arumeru District, Arusha Region. The truth is that on June 20, 2025, the Arusha Regional Police Force arrested those individuals—Jackson Kabalo (32) and Joseph Mrindoko (37)—both entrepreneurs and residents of Maji ya Chai, Arumeru District, Arusha Region, on allegations of misusing social media platforms,” the police said in their statement.
The arrests have been condemned by Boniface Mwabukusi, President of the Tanganyika Law Society.
“According to eyewitnesses, the assailants arrived in a Land Cruiser vehicle, dressed in civilian clothing and armed with firearms. Upon entering the house, they placed the young men under restraint. However, when asked to produce identification to verify if they were truly police officers, they refused,” he says.
“Art is not a crime,” Mwabukusi says in a statement. “Criticizing a leader, disliking them, or pointing out the shortcomings of a leader or government is not an offense — it is a constitutional right.”
Her government has blocked the main opposition Chadema party from contesting presidential and parliamentary elections in October and has charged its leader, Tundu Lissu, with the unattainable offense of treason, which carries a maximum punishment of death.
