Tanzania - The African Mirror

Feb

2023

Lights, camera, action: Idris Elba boost to Swahili film industry

DAR ES SALAAM (BIRD STORY AGENCY) - British actor Idris Elba plans to open a major film studio in Tanzania after holding initial talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Tanzanian's Director of Presidential Communications, Zuhura Yunus, recently made this announcement during a media briefing session on the outcome of President Hassan's trip to the 53rd World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "The president met with Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina, and they are keen to invest in a film studio in Tanzania," said Yunus. "Discussions on the project have just begun, and if successful, the project will help not…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Tanzania opposition leader says he will end exile after rally ban was lifted

NEWS

TANZANIAN opposition leader and former presidential candidate Tundu Lissu said he will return home this month from exile in Europe after the government lifted a ban on political rallies. President Samia Suluhu Hassan lifted the six-and-a-half-year ban on political rallies last week, part of her reconciliation strategy after taking over the presidency in March 2021 following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli. "With the lifting of the illegal ban on political activity, it's now time to return home and get back to work," Lissu wrote late on Friday on Twitter, saying he would arrive on January 25. The ban, imposed by…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Tanzania plane crash survivors, rescuers describe heroics laced with tragedy

NEWS

BENSON JACOB WHEN the waters of Lake Victoria started gushing into the cabin of Flight PW494, passenger Mectrida Samuel knew she had to act fast. Around her, others were frantically trying to free themselves and keep above the fast-rising water. "We had a big crash and I immediately started seeing water enter the plane. Passengers started to struggle to rescue themselves," Samuel said, describing the moments after the Precision Air flight to Bukoba plunged into the lake in northern Tanzania. "The only thing that helped me survive was that I managed to remove my seat belt and get out of…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Mourners weep over 19 coffins after Tanzania plane crash

NEWS

WEEPING relatives of the 19 people who died when a plane crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania filed past a row of coffins in the lakeside town of Bukoba on Monday as religious and political leaders gathered for a ceremony to honour the victims. Flight PW494, operated by Tanzanian airline Precision Air and carrying 43 people, hit the water in stormy weather as it tried to land at Bukoba airport early on Sunday morning, arriving from the capital Dar es Salaam. Transport Minister Makame Mbarawa told mourners gathered in a stadium that the weather had abruptly changed from good to…

Sep

2022

By The African Mirror

How Shiite Islam reached Tanzania, and Ashoura processions became an annual tradition

RELIGION

EACH year, the largest contemporary Muslim pilgrimage takes place in Iraq to remember Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. Before the pandemic, this event reportedly drew more than 30 million people, but in recent years participation declined to more than 14 million. This procession from Najaf to Karbala, where Hussein is buried, commemorates the 40th day after his martyrdom, a typical length of mourning in Muslim traditions. In 2022, this falls on September 17. Author MARA LEICHTMAN, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Muslim Studies, Michigan State University Following the death of the prophet in A.D. 632, a dispute developed over…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

Tanzania’s huge green energy pivot

ENVIRONMENT

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY ON April 29, Tanzania announced it had inked an agreement with exploration firm Equinor and with Exxon Mobil to develop a vast liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant worth 30 billion US dollars (USD). Tanzania has an estimated 57 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves but disagreements with oil corporations over production-sharing had stalled investments in the sector. However, President Samia Suluhu Hassan renewed negotiations with energy firms to revive the construction of offshore natural gas projects in 2023. But while the East African nation looks to prop up its gas industry, its renewable energy sector…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

Evicting people from Tanzania’s Ngorongoro conservation area is a bad idea, there are alternatives

ENVIRONMENT

THE Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania is a spectacular area made up of expansive plains, forests and savanna. It’s also home to a huge caldera – a depression that forms when a volcano erupts and collapses – known as the Ngorongoro Crater. The Conservation Area, covering about 8,292km2, is special for the large number of wildlife that live there which led to it being declared a World Heritage site in 1979. Authors PABLO MANZANO, Ikerbasque Research fellow, bc3 - Basque Centre for Climate Change LUCAS YAMAT, PhD candidate, bc3 - Basque Centre for Climate Change It’s also special because…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Tanzania’s Hassan has put out positive signals: deeper change is yet to come

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AFTER the death of President John Magufuli on 17 March 2021, Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan became Tanzania’s sixth president and the first woman in the office. She may have been an “accidental president” but she seems to have set Tanzania on a change of course compared to the approach taken by her predecessor. Her government has enhanced diplomatic relations, approached the COVID-19 pandemic differently and increased the number of women in high political office. The extent to which this will bring institutional rather than merely rhetorical change is unclear. Detractors will point to her lack of commitment to broader constitutional…

Mar

2022

By The African Mirror

Tanzania frees opposition leader, drops charges

NEWS

TANZANIA has freed the leader of the main opposition party, Freeman Mbowe after prosecutors dropped terrorism charges brought against him last year, his party said on Friday. Mbowe, who is the chairman of Chadema party, was detained last July in the lakeside town of Mwanza where he was due to attend a conference on proposals for a new constitution. He was charged in court on July 26, in spite of protests from his party that the charges were politically motivated. "The director of prosecutions has dropped charges of economic crimes and terrorism," Chadema said on its Twitter feed. Three co-accused…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

IMF approves $567 mln in emergency support for Tanzania

BUSINESS

ANDREA SHALAL THE International Monetary Fund's executive board has approved $567 million in emergency support for Tanzania to help it finance a COVID-19 vaccination campaign and meet the health and social costs of the pandemic, the IMF said in a statement. The IMF board approved a disbursement of $189 million to Tanzania under its Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), as well as $378 million under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), the global lender said. The COVID-19 outbreak and associated travel restrictions have led to the collapse of the tourism sector in the East African country, which had denied the existence of…