Tanzanians arrested for ‘embarrassing the government’

Authorities in Tanzania have arrested people for “embarrassing the government” after they shared a video showing the poor state of the roads in the country.

Arusha Regional Commissioner, Mrisho Gambo, said those spreading the video were wanting to embarrass the country, and were guilty of economic sabotage.

Mr Gambo told the regional police commissioner to arrest and interrogate those culpable so as to “understand their motive”.

The video shows a group of tour vehicles stuck on a muddy, potholed road in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, whilst the person behind the camera can he heard pleading with the authorities to fix the roads.

Mr Gambo spoke to private TV station Azam TV, who tweeted an interview with the commissioner explaining why he had taken the action he had.

But people responded by saying he should focus his efforts on fixing the roads, rather than threatening those who are trying to bring the problem to his attention.

Photo: Twitter/Martin M. M.