Attacked Tanzanian journalist loses his eye, is visited in hospital by President Kikwete

Absalom Kibanda, Chairperson of the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) and Editor-in-Chief at New Habari Corporation, who was brutally attacked on Tuesday, 5 March 2013 by unknown assailants has lost his left eye.

News reports say doctors at the South African hospital where Kibanda is currently being treated had failed to save his badly injured left eye although some dislocated facial bones had been restored. The senior editor will now receive an artificial eye.

Three medical doctors, two cranium specialists and an optician completed the five hour surgical operation. They managed to restore in position some of the dislocated facial bones but decided to remove the left eye which had already lost sight. An artificial plastic eye will be placed. We continue praying for his quick recovery,” reads part of a statement released by the TEF.

Tanzania president, Jakaya Kikwete, visited Kibanda in hospital over the weekend. He had earlier attended to official business.

The editor was attacked at the gate in front of his Dar-es-Salaam home as he returned from work last Tuesday evening. His attackers, who are said to have been wielding guns, pulled him out of his vehicle and brutally assaulted him, leaving him unconscious. The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) understands Kibanda had some of his teeth and nails plucked out and his left eye was pierced with a sharp object. He was later flown to South Africa to receive further medical attention.

In strongly condemning the attack on Kibanda, MISA also acknowledged the efforts that were being made by police and health officials in mobilising resources to ensure that the perpetrators of the act would be hotly pursued while the editor received the best possible medical care. Various other organisations and institutions, including the Editors Forum of Namibia (EFN), the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and the United States Embassy in Dar-es-Salaam have condemned the attack on Kibanda and called on president KikweteÂ’s government to conduct a thorough investigation and bring the culprits to book.

Meanwhile, the TEF has also appointed a five-person team to conduct an independent investigation into the attack on the senior editor. The team will be comprised of three people from the TEF, one from the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) and yet another from the MISAÂ’s Tanzania Chapter (MISA-Tanzania). The team will begin its probe in a weekÂ’s time and is expected to report on their findings after two weeks.

MISA Programme Specialist for Media Freedom Monitoring & Research, Levi Kabwato expressed relief at signs of improvement in Kibanda’s condition. He also commended president Kikwete for visiting the journalist in hospital but was quick to point out that Kibanda’s attack was “an unfortunate sign of waning respect for journalists” in Tanzania, exacerbated by government’s own conduct towards the media.

We appreciate the president [Kikwete] visiting our colleague and friend in hospital, that is a very noble thing for him to have done. That act alone inspires confidence in us that the key arms of the Tanzanian government are taking this matter very seriously and that in the end, Kibanda will find justice,” Kabwato said.

He added: “We also know that he [Kibanda] is facing sedition charges, along with other journalists. We also know that there is a newspaper that remains banned under the out-dated 1976 Newspaper Act and we also know that there are several other journalists, media practitioners and human rights defenders who have come under fire of late in Tanzania. We sincerely hope that president Kikwete will, as a result of this latest attack, devote considerable time and energy in ensuring that an environment exists, in his country, that is not hostile to media freedom and freedom of expression.”

Kibanda was scheduled to appear before the Kisutu Resident MagistrateÂ’s Court on Wednesday, 6 March 2013. He is currently facing charges of sedition along with two other people. The case stems from a feature article that appeared in his former newspaper, Tanzania Daima, where he was serving as Managing Editor at the time. Proceedings have been adjourned to 26 March, 2013.

Tanzania is currently going through, arguably, one of its worst periods in terms of media freedom. In September 2012, a prominent journalist, Daudi Mwangosi died instantly when members of a police unit fired a teargas canister through his stomach. In January 2013, radio journalist, Issa Ngumba, was found dead in a forest with his body showing signs of torture, including gunshot wounds. A newspaper, MwanaHalisi has also been banned under the draconian 1976 Newspaper Act.