Governmental Print Media as Political Instruments
Due to the economic difficulties after the Second World War, the number of the independent newspapers began to shrink. Fiah’s Kwetu temporarily suspended publication in May 1945, and Patel had to give up Dunia in late 1946. An attempt to establish a pamphlet-sized Swahili and English publication named The African Voice failed in September 1947 (cf. Scotton 1978, p. 7). Furthermore, the
Tanganyika Herald disappeared on May 28th 194818, and Zuhra had to cease publication in 1950.
In contrast, the government press, the Tanganyika Opinion, and the newspapers of the East African Standard Ltd. increased their market share. From 1930, both editions of the Tanganyika Standard had continuously raised their circulation, and, with a print run of 8,000 each, they were the leading papers in the country by far. The Indian population was served by the Tanganyika Opinion now as before, and the British administration saw the need to meet African demands for information.
Encouraged by the success of Habari za Vita, the government decided to continue the weekly’s production and renamed it Habari za Leo (News of Today). Despite the print run of 20,000, copies were rarely available since Habari za Leo was still free of charge. In its contents, the paper had adopted the same editorial policy as Mambo Leo which was published in a run of 50,000 copies at that time. While the Royal Family had a fairly impressive coverage, there were no news about the rising national liberation movement or similar items.
To meet the African demands for reports on current affairs, the government launched Mwangaza (The Light) in 1951 - then, the only Swahili daily. It was more liberal and receptive to nationalistic tendencies than the other periodicals under the auspices of the government (cf.
Omari 1972, p. 46). Thus, the paper, which was published in Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and later also in Lindi, gained a print run of 9,000 copies in 1956 (cf. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office 1952, p. 99; 1955, p. 59; 1957, p. 50).
Like Mambo Leo and Habari za Leo, Mwangaza was edited by the Public Relations Department, hereafter known as PRD, which had replaced the
18 The weekly edition of the Tanganyika Herald reappeared in 1959 and existed until 1963.
Figure 14: The governmental weekly Habari za Leo succeeded Habari za Vita in 1945 (by permission of The British Library, M. C. 1733).
Information Office in 1949 (cf. Hill, Moffet [eds.] 1955, p. 116). The primary function of the new department was:
„(...) to provide a regular flow of up-to-date and accurate information regarding the many activities of Government, for use in the English and vernacular press, and also for distribution to the information and public relations departments of the Colonial Office and of all British colonial territories, and to newspapers and news agencies overseas.“ (His Majesty’s Stationery Office 1950, p. 113)
At the very beginning, the PRD issued official press communiqués and hand-outs, but, in July 1950, the scheme was replaced with the official publication Tanganyika News Service of which 350 copies were distributed to all parts of the world. The paper, which was widely used and quoted by both the local and the international press, took the form of a series of news items accompanied by one or more short feature articles on the current situation in the territory (cf. ibid.).19
In respect of the absence of an independent African press, the officials at the PRD were convinced that the people were generally satisfied with the status quo:
„If the inhabitants of this territory were seized with the burning desire, which seems to exist elsewhere, to dip a pen in vitriol and write unkind things about the Government with it, then the papers would spring up here as they have done elsewhere.“ (Annual Report of the Public Relations Department, Tanganyika, 1951, pp. 4 - 5. Quoted from Scotton 1978, p. 7)
The situation slightly changed when a small number of local papers appeared in the early 1950s. In 1951, C. H. B. Hakili published Wangaluka (Good Morning), a monthly edited in Swahili and Nyamwezi. It was the first paper during the British administration which did not appear in Dar es Salaam but in Nzega situated north of Tabora.
In 1952, another two publications followed. The first was Bukya na Gandi (Fresh News) which was founded by Ewald R. Munseri in Kabangamirembe in the district of Bukoba. Published weekly, it was written in English, Swahili, and Haya and did by no means oppose the government’s policies. In this connection, it is interesting that the paper with the promising subtitle „Truth, Tact and Tolerance”
19 Other periodicals of the PRD included the monthlies The Month in Tanganyika and A World News Summary, both established in 1956, the popular pamphlet What’s the Answer? and Tanganyika in the U. K. Press, both launched in 1957, and the occasional newssheet Sauti ya Kweli (Voice of Truth) founded in 1959 (cf. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office 1957, p. 51; 1958, p. 55; 1960, p. 75).
was not required to post the usual bond with the colonial administration (cf. Ochs 1986, p. 57; Scotton 1978, p. 8).
Munseri, whom James F. Scotton considered „probably the most experienced and best educated African journalist in Tanganyika at the time“ (Scotton 1978, p. 8), had been educated at a senior Catholic seminary in Uganda. After he had worked for several years in the Uganda Information Office in Kampala, he served as assistant editor of the government papers Habari za Leo and Mambo Leo in Dar es Salaam. By starting an independent paper in the Bahaya region, he intended to combat tribalism among his people. Bukya na Gandi’s editorial policy turned out to be popular, and its initial run of 1,000 copies was raised to 3,000 in 1955 (cf.
ibid.).
Later, in 1955, Munseri founded a Haya monthly named Bahaha Twemanye (Bahaya, Let Us Know Each Other), and, in the following year, he launched the Swahili weekly Tanganyika Mpya (New Tanganyika). Both publications were edited in Bukoba. Whereas Bahaya Twemanye even disappeared before independence, Tanganyika Mpya and Bukya na Gandi survived until 1962. But then, Munseri came under political pressure and was forced to give up the production of his periodicals. In return, Tanganyika’s first president, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, appointed him to a post in the Information Services (cf.
Konde 1984, p. 27).
The second new publication of 1952 was the Dodoma paper Wela (Grain) which was printed in Swahili and the local vernacular, Gogo. Edited by Geoffrey P.
Masekas of the Dodoma Local Treasury, it was mostly concerned with local news and practical advice, such as the problems of hiring a tractor (cf. Scotton 1978, p.
8).
Moreover, the already mentioned Zuhra resumed publication as a weekly in 1952. But soon, the paper had to struggle with different problems and appeared at irregular intervals until its final cessation in 1962.
Since the private papers were much in demand, the government feared to lose influence on the African population. Thus, Siku Hizi (These Days) was launched in 1952. The picture magazine was published by the Central Office of Information in England every six weeks in both a Swahili and an English edition. While the English paper had a very limited readership and was printed in a run of only
1,000 copies, its sister had a circulation of 9,000 (cf. Hill, Moffet [eds.] 1955, p.
117).
Although a commission of the United Nations20 had concluded in 1948 that the colonial system of Indirect Rule21 favoured tribalistic movements throughout Tanzania (cf. Herzog 1986, p. 114), Governor Edward Twining even reinforced this trend when he transfomed the „Native Authorities“ into more autonomous local administrations in 1951 (cf. Pratt 1960, p. 49). In order to increase the chiefs’ popularity, they were given free flights to Great Britain. Especially Mambo Leo published pictures which showed chiefs dining at the royal court and shaking hands with high-ranking officials. Furthermore, most of them were awarded badges and titles. There are reasonable arguments that the primary aim of this divide-et-impera policy was to weaken the nascent nationalism (cf. Omari 1972, pp. 44 - 45).
Accordingly, in the years 1952 and 1953, the administration started altogether 23 provincial monthlies, ranging from duplicated typescripts of negligible circulation to printed newspapers in a run of up to 3,000 copies. The total print run of the local periodicals amounted to 26,000 copies (cf. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office 1954, p. 57). Most of them were published in Swahili, though a few papers appeared at least partly in a vernacular, e. g., the Tukuyu paper Lembuka printed in Nyakusa and Swahili or Majyambele of Mwanza in Hangaze and Swahili.
Edited by Africans with guidance and assistance from the „Native Authorities“ or district commissioners, the government tried to encourage the growth and development of these print media along independent lines. But due to the lack of trained journalists, the Africanisation of the editorial staff proceeded slowly. The contents of the district papers were confined to local news, and, initially, they did not oppose the administration’s policies (cf. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office 1953, p. 121; Kitchen 1956, p. 36).
On November 7th 1954, the Sunday News appeared as weekly edition of the Tanganyika Standard. It was a modern-styled and entertaining magazine in the tradition of the British tabloid press running serialised novels, guessing thrillers,
20 After the Second World War, Tanganyika had become a British trust territory under the supervision of the United Nations. According to the charta on this matter, Great Britain had to prepare the country for independence.
21 The British government had implemented the policy of Indirect Rule in Tanganyika in the mid-1920s. In order to administer the 120 ethnic groups of the territory, the governor appointed so-called „Native Authorities“ who were sometimes supported by „Native Councils“ (cf. Herzog 1986, p. 76).
and film reports. Moreover, Sunday News published the first pin-ups of Tanzania’s press history. As can be concluded from the subsequent commentary of Governor Edward Twining, the paper’s publishing company, the Nairobi-based East African Standard Ltd., was well-connected with the British administration:
„I WELCOME the advent of a Sunday paper as an associate of the Tanganyika Standard which for a quarter of a century has kept the people of Tanganyika so well informed on world and local events of importance and interest. I feel confident that the views expressed in the new paper, the Sunday News, will be such as to enhance the harmonious relations we enjoy and that its standard of journalism will be on the very high level which we in this territory have come to expect from your organisation.“
(Sunday News, Vol. 01, No. 01, November 7th 1954, p. 1).
Thus, it can be summarised that at the end of the year 1954, the Tanganyikan press, which comprised about 50 newspapers and magazines, was either in the hands of the government or at least non-controversial. Publications promoting nationalism or anti-colonialism were lacking at this time.