SECTOR 1 1.1 Freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, is guaranteed in the constitution and supported by other pieces of legislation Like most modern states, Tanzania is governed through a constitution, which in principle, serves as the supreme law. In 2011, the country began a process of enacting a new constitution that would be ‘more legitimate and nationally owned’. A draft contained sweeping changes to the social contract between the public and the national leadership: yet, it was vigorously fought down. The opposition and civic society complained that, amongst others, the Tanzanian Constitutional Assembly was unrepresentative and the draft they produced failed to include opposition inputs such as clauses limiting the powers of the president. In a development that stalled the constitutional revision process, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) of Tanzania pulled the plug on a planned referendum on the new constitution in 2015, officially citing delays in registering voters. AMB panellists stated that resuming the constitutional revision process does not appear to be a priority for the current government, which came to power through an election later in 2015. The 1977 Constitution3 was, therefore, still in force during the 2019 assessment of the media landscape in Tanzania. This version of the constitution recognises a range of citizens’ rights and duties, including the right to freedom of expression. Enshrined under several clauses dealing with ‘the right to freedom of conscience,’ Section 18 of the constitution states: Every person (a) has freedom of opinion and expression of his ideas; (b) has a right to seek, receive and, or disseminate information regardless of national boundaries; (c) has the freedom to communicate and a freedom with protection from interference from his communication; and (d) has a right to be informed at all times of various important events of life and activities of the people and also of issues of importance to the society. Noticeably, the constitution fails to expressly grant freedom of the media. Panellists noted that some laws from colonial times are still in place which are inherently repressive in nature. Such significant omission has been openly debated both in media and political circles. Thanks to advocacy from media rights organisations, the draft of the new constitution included specific clauses dealing with ‘freedom to information and freedom of the press’. Section 31 of the draft charter states that: (1) Every person has the right and freedom to (a) to seek, obtain, use and disseminate news and information; and (b) to set up the media and other means of news dissemination regardless of national boundaries. (2) The media shall be free and will have (a) the right to access, use and disseminate news and information they receive; (b) the responsibility to (i) disseminate news and information to the public; and (ii) to respect and protect the dignity, respect, liberty and dignity of citizens against the news and information they consume, they prepare and disseminate. 10 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TANZANIA 2019