Detained journalists free to leave Tanzania
South African journalist Angela Quintal and her Kenyan colleague, Muthoki Mumo‚ who were detained by law enforcement in Tanzania‚ have been given their passports back.
“The High Commissioner of South Africa in Tanzania‚ Mr Thami Mseleku‚ has informed the minister of international relations‚ Lindiwe Sisulu‚ that passports of a South African journalist and that of her Kenyan colleague have been returned‚” the department of international relations said on Thursday.
It said Quintal and Mumo had been released following their detention on Wednesday.
Mseleku was instructed by Sisulu to gather all the facts around their detention and report to Pretoria by the end of Thursday.
“Following meetings with the Tanzanian authorities this morning‚ the high commissioner has indicated that the two journalists are now free to leave Tanzania,” the department said.
Quintal and Mumo are in Tanzania on a reporting mission for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The SA National Editors’ Forum called on the government to find answers as to why the two had been detained in Tanzania.
“We believe the arbitrary detention of journalists is a direct and dangerous threat to media freedom and access to information,” Sanef chair Mahlatse Gallens said.