Access to the social media platform X, which was previously called Twitter, has been blocked in Tanzania. This information comes from reports shared by internet monitoring groups.
To begin with, this is not the first time such a thing has happened. In fact, it is the second time in just a few months that Tanzania has restricted access to X. This ongoing action raises concerns about internet freedom in the East African country.
Furthermore, NetBlocks, a well-known organization that tracks internet shutdowns around the world, confirmed the latest disruption.
According to their report, X became completely unreachable through all the major internet service providers in Tanzania on Tuesday, May 20.
Around 9 PM East African Time, the London-based group released a statement. It said,
“Live metrics show X (formerly Twitter) has become unreachable on major internet providers in Tanzania; the incident comes as a compromised police account posts claims [sic] the President has died, angering the country’s leadership.”
Tanzania’s police force
Moreover, this internet blockage followed a serious cyberattack. Hackers had taken control of the official X account of Tanzania’s police force.
That account, which had around 470,000 followers, posted false news claiming the President had died. This shocking post created confusion, sparked fear, and made top government officials very angry.
Later, the authorities managed to regain control of the hacked account. After that, they promised to investigate the matter thoroughly and track down those responsible for the cyberattack.
Just one day before this hacking incident, President Samia had asked the police to take strong steps to protect social media platforms.
This clearly showed that the government was already becoming more concerned about the spread of fake news and misinformation online.
Political activists
At the same time, tensions continued to rise due to events involving political activists. For example, several activists from East African countries, especially Kenya, were recently arrested and deported from Tanzania.
These activists had traveled there to watch the court trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu on Monday, May 19.
Among them, Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire remain in police custody after being reportedly arrested in Dar es Salaam.
This situation adds to the growing worries about freedom of expression and human rights in the East African region.
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