Tanzania bans Blogger!

I originally drafted this in May 2025 but could not post due to being in Tanzania 

The Tanzania government has never been a bastion of free speech, and in my time here I have seen the muzzling of journalism in several disturbing ways. This ratcheted up with President Magufuli who served from 2015 until his death in 2021. President Samia initially looked like she would expand press freedoms but it's become increasingly apparent that she is following the same path laid by President Magafuli. 

There are plenty of journalists out there who are committed to ensuring freedom of speech and rights for journalists and I would encourage you to check out their work. But in short, Tanzania does not have freedom of speech or freedom of press and combined with the dominance of media consumption in the local Swahili language, this leads the majority of people in Tanzania to be ignorant of world events. This was best demonstrated during COVID where people legitimately believed there was no COVID in Tanzania, yes, we along with Kazakhstan and North Korea were the only countries without it, people legitimately believed this. I recently surveyed our staff and the vast majority genuinely believed that Ukraine started the war with Russia. It is quite scary and sad to keep the population ignorant and oppressed. "Speaking up" is not a quality that citizens in Tanzania value and I do not blame them, there is absolutely no reason to risk your life or livelihood by standing up for freedom of speech. But this certainly affects the development of the country and its citizens.

The Tanzanian government has not clearly defined what qualifies as harmful content, nor outlined who makes that determination or how those decisions are reviewed. Yet it continues to expand its authority over online expression, deciding who gets to speak and what can be said.  

Under Magufuli, Tanzania saw a dramatic tightening of media regulation and political control. Key legislative milestones included the Cybercrimes Act (2015), Statistics Act (2015), and Access to Information Act (2015), all of which restricted freedom and oversight of the media. The Media Services Act (2016) gave authorities the power to shut down media organizations and required newspapers to apply for annual licenses.

The impact was immediate. By 2019, major newspapers, including Mwananchi, Mtanzania, and Raia, were banned from publication. The Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations (2020) further expanded control over online content. In July 2020, The East African, which had circulated for 20 years, was banned, officially over registration issues. Later that year, following Magufuli’s reelection, widespread public discontent led to internet and phone network shutdowns for 2–3 days.

Under Samia, this trajectory has continued and intensified. In October 2024, several newspapers (The Citizen, Mwananchi, and Mwanaspoti) had their online licenses suspended for 30 days over an animated clip highlighting abductions and disappearances. In May 2025, the government banned 80,000 websites, including platforms like Blogger.

While Tanzania has historically been nationalist and cautious about media freedom, tracing back to Nyerere’s era and post-union citizenship and information policies, the scale and immediacy of repression today is unprecedented. Previous decades featured slower, more incremental restrictions, and media criticism often survived in print or radio. Compared to the broader East African region, Tanzania’s current climate is more tightly controlled than Kenya, Uganda, or even Rwanda in certain areas of press freedom. The combination of legislative, administrative, and technological tools under Magufuli and Samia has fundamentally reshaped how Tanzanians access and understand information, leaving many unaware of both domestic and international events. 

From my experience, the combination of legislative restrictions and the dominance of Swahili-language media has made the population remarkably insular. Many Tanzanians consume almost exclusively local Swahili content and are often unaware of international events, something I witnessed repeatedly. The younger generation might be more exposed through TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms, but I worry that governmental restrictions will continue to move faster than digital freedom, limiting how much this exposure can truly change public awareness. 

Leaving Tanzania

After more than 12 years, I am leaving Tanzania! When I first moved here, I never could have imagined staying so long and making the country my home. I am so grateful to have been able to see the country and experience the people and the culture, as well as the natural beauty and wildlife. Both my work and personal life was enriching and allowed me to see most of the country and interact with people from every single region and I was lucky enough to live and work in three different regions, each unique with its own tribe, customs and culture. 

When I first set foot in Tanzania a year or two before Magufuli’s rise, the place felt like any other country in the region, rich in potential, yet hampered by bureaucracy, inefficiency, and low-level corruption. Then Magufuli arrived. He made sweeping changes, digitizing services, showing zero tolerance for “ghost workers,” firing officials, and launching major infrastructure projects like the Standard Gauge Railway, expanded healthcare and schools, and electrifying rural areas. These initiatives signaled real progress and offered hope that things could change. I'm curious if the youth, having none of the Nyerere influenced upbringing, will break the insular thinking that most of the older generation has. 

On the other hand, his leadership style came with trade-offs. Political space tightened into a true authoritarian regime; media was restricted, opposition voices stifled, and elections were criticized for repression and lack of transparency. In the 2020 elections and again in 2024 the internet was shut down for several days following the elections. 

One piece of Tanzania’s restrictive environment, however, had nothing to do with Magufuli. The lack of a path to dual nationality or easy naturalization long predated him. The firmly nationalist citizenship framework dates back decades, codified in the post-union era and the 1995 Citizenship Act, which still prohibits dual citizenship except for minors and imposes strict naturalization requirement. 

So when I arrived a couple of years before Magufuli, the Tanzania I encountered had the same limitation, a place where foreigners, even those who’d lived there for years, faced an uncertain future. Magufuli didn’t introduce that; he just made it more visible as the climate shifted. Many people who had arrangements to "own" land and businesses were suddenly stressed and we knew several people that had to leave. This meant that we always knew we would move on, though it was still difficult to do so. 

It's been an amazing run, I've gotten to see a ton of the country, learned a language, created relationships and got to live a lifestyle that had an immense amount of freedom. Tanzania can be a difficult place to live as well, the indirect communication style, lack of urgency, and poor general infrastructure can be taxing, but for those of us that found a way to balance it all, Tanzania was an incredibly enriching place for me to have called home. 

Ode to the travel guitar

 

Goodbye old friend!

I've had my Martin Backpacker guitar for 21 years and it's served me well throughout my life. It's traveled the world with me, at times providing me with companionship in isolated living conditions, or providing a tool to connect with people whom I do not share a language with. Sometimes, it's simply been vibes, the ability to bust out the guitar and provide the main entertainment or have someone sing or play another instrument with me. There have been sing-a-longs of world wide classics like Wonderwall and there have been quiet fingerpicking instrumentals in the background. 

The guitar has seen less and less use as I've gotten older. I think there are a few factors leading to the reduced use. The first is that I am less inclined to take many items with me while traveling. I used to pack the soft carrying bag with clothes and it would serve as a kind of backpack. A second reason is that I've become accustomed to a nylon string guitar and finger picking. The third, and probably biggest reason, is that over the years the guitar has become battered and bruised, and the action is no longer very comfortable nor is the sound very good. It sounds too bright and there is a slight vibration on one of the strings. In all the years I've owned it, the guitar has only suffered one injury. I loaned my friend the guitar and the body cracked. I repaired the crack, though at that stage it was more for sentimental reasons as the body is delicate the sound was compromised since that repair. Years of varied environments from hot and humid rainforest to dry savanna have led to its current state. 

As I pack up my goods I realize that this guitar is no more than a sentimental piece of wood for me. I haven't played it in years and it's not in a playable state so I will say good bye to this guitar when I leave Tanzania. I want to maybe cut out a small keepsake, carve a piece of the wood into something so the memory of the guitar can live on 

On the right, signs of rocking from having no pick guard. One the left, signs of sweat and grime from my arm!

 

Lots of curious onlookers in India

In Jamaica there were dancehall beats and freestyles

In China I took our student group to the wrong train station in Beijing and we missed our train. I don't remember exactly what went down but the guitar came out and we started a party

Our house in Iringa

I don't think I've ever blogged about our house in Iringa and during a recent nostaligic reflection on our life in Moshi, we both realized how fleeting memories can be and I wanted to capture the uniquness of our Iringa house in full. 

I believe we started renting this house in April 2020. Prior to this we had friends living in Iringa and we always stayed over at their house. In those days we were only coming to Iringa town maximum once per month for purchasing and the trips were usually only two to three nights. When they departed Tanzania we suddenly found ourselves quickly tired of the local guesthouses. We love living in a rustic field camp but this means the expectations of relatively comfortable amenities is reasonably high when we come to town. 

After some arduous searching we finally found a place that really suited our needs. Many of the places that I found that were nice were simply too big. They would require a ton of furnishings and then due to our come and go nature, we'd also need to have some kind of security arrangement. The place we landed on is actually a kind of smaller house on the property of a retired East African Indian couple. They live alone in the larger house on the compound and we have an oddly designed though serviceable dwelling. 

The house is quite clearly the combination of two small houses. We have a main sitting room with a bathroom complete with a shower and toilet. One thing I must mention is the excellent water pressure of the shower, one thing typically lacking in Tanzania. The water heater takes about an hour or two to heat up, something to note in the chilly Iringa. There is then a narrow corridor a few steps down from the main room that serves as a tiny kitchen. A few steps down is another room, similar to the first one with a complete bathroom and a door to the outside. 

The house has one wall that is adjoining to the exterior wall. This leads to a build up of moisture and mold in the rainy season. It also means there are no windows on one side of the house and in certain hours of the day the house is pretty dark. It is also a cold house, in the winter months its chilly throughout the entire day and even when its warm the lower room barely warms up. Iringa gets quite chilly and is not your typical tropical climate!

I also repurposed our dinner table as my studio, so we eat on a small table in the living room. This further diminished the ability for the house to host guests, although we have had some friends and family stay over, we don't really have a very comfortable and spacious setting. 

You may ask why we have remained here for five years with so many less than ideal features? Well, the first thing is that the presence of our landlords means we can come and go with ease, park vehicles for extended periods, and have someone look after the house if needed. The peace of mind and flexibility was huge as we traveled more and more for work. The second reason is that the price was right relative to our budget. Towards the end of our stay we did consider if the economics added up, after all there were extended periods, I'm talking three months, where we would not spend a night. But it was also important for us to have a home in Iringa town. We have friends here and really love the town. 

The location is also stellar. It's located on the last road high up on the eastern hills that line Iringa. The views are spectacular and there isn't any traffic beyond the residents that live on the road. It's literally the end of the road beyond our house and we have a five minute walk up to Gangilonga Rock. It's a nice private area without being in a pretentiously affluent area of town.  

Our neighbors have cats which are constantly reproducing at a rapid rate. We feel like we've seen a dozen litters and the attrition rate is relatively high. There are Vervet Monkeys that prowl the neighborhood and they would not doubt snatch a kitten. The landlord feeds them, of all things, bread, which I've never seen before but it seems to be sufficient sustenance. 

We've enjoyed our five years here and sad to say goodbye. Despite its shortcomings, it's provided a comfortable and cozy for us during our time in Iringa.  

 

Studio set up

Iringa restaurants: Ruksana's Indian Restaurant

 

Ruksana's Indian Restaurant is a staple of Iringa. One of my favorite restaurants ANYWHERE, this unique restaurant also has a long history that provides some sentimentality as we feel like we've been along for the journey. 

The original location was a rather nondescript location with strange blackout paper on the windows. Where I am from, this type of opaque black window and door covering is only found in one location: pornography stores. Now of course that's my own history and bias but it had practical consequences as well, it was a bit startling to suddenly enter an intimate space, sometimes to a large group. I pulled this image of the outside from the internet but it often did not have the wooden sign and the white lettering on the door had long worn off. If one had not visited before there was always hesitation when reaching like, is this possible the location of a restaurant? With no visible markings and in fact only having self-effacing features, were you about to open the door on a private residence or illegal gambling den?! 

the old location

Upon entering the location the first thing you noticed was that it was, may I be generous and describe it as, intimate. The room was a small rectangle with a few tables. To further complicate matters, half of the room was taken up by the owners children watching TV, playing games, or just plain hanging out. It was like there was an unspoken understanding that the two tables nearest to the door were for diners while the rest of the space was actually their living room. Suspicions were furthered when going to wash your hands; walking through a clearly residential living quarters you were met with a bucket hand washing station and a peek inside the kitchen. A two burner jiko powered away, the proprietor and his wife usually bustling about in the cramped space. It was often times a comical scene whereby he'd be shouting some orders while flipping naan, then stirring some ingredients into the paneer kadai, as she rushes over a prepped chicken biriyani mix, also taking the freshly cooked veg pakora. They'd be exchanging words and plates and then suddenly peek up through the half open door at me, hesitate, and then kick the door shut as they continued in their maniacal thought efficient kitchen. 

By the time I had reached Iringa the restaurant was at this spot but I'd heard he was originally the cook at a place called the Haven. The owners of the Haven were apparently a jolly family from the UK, normal and happy members of the Iringa community. Then one day, poof, they vanished. Word got out that an investigative journalist had tracked them down to Iringa and the were fugitives on the run, allegedly owing millions of pounds to the UK government. And they named their restaurant the Haven, how delightfully cheeky. 

Apparently after this all occurred, the owner got his own spot. Early on there was new ownership in the Haven and from what I could gather he was moonlighting as a cook at his own restaurant, or the other way around, it's honestly difficult to understand. Sometimes he'd be at his restaurant but then he'd get a call and jump on a motorcycle to likely go cook at the other job. It was much better when he was around though his family did a commendable job to fill in when he was not there. His children were almost always there and they transitioned from simply vacating the dining room and telling their parents there were customers to most recently taking orders and running food. 

Around 2023 he made some renovations, got a proper soda machine fridge, and invested a bit in the property. Unfortunately, though the faux brick wallpaper was nice, the slightly larger tables and chairs only made a cramped space even more uncomfortable. It was a nice effort though and the food remained delicious as usual. At this time I realized there was another expat that lived in town. He was a single retired male and from what I gathered he had some type of arrangement to come in for dinner, either pick up or dine in, and he would get whatever random meal was prepared for him. We witnessed these exchanges several times and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous! 

Then we received some big news, he was going to move to the former site of the Haven, later rebranded as Chimney, and have a much larger property along with a guesthouse. I was super excited and although the property was initially a bit spartan, it is now a comfortable space with both internal and external dining with plenty of space for large groups and families. 

OK, I haven't even mentioned the most important thing, the food. I've been told it is Mughlai-style cuisine and the owner is indeed Indian. Some favorites are the pakora, the butter chicken, the chicken biriyani, paneer kadai, and the butter naan. I am by no means an expert on Indian food but I've had many people from all around the world express this opinion about the food. In fact, some years ago my family and friends met up in Asheville, NC. One of my sisters is a bit of a foodie and she had scoped out this James Beard award winning Indian restaurant. We dined there and although the food was solid, to be honest, we were sitting there thinking it didn't hold a flame to Ruksana. A year later one of my friends that was at the restaurant came to visit Tanzania. After eating at Ruksana he understood that we must have felt disappointed in Asheville. We laughed about it saying that no one would have believed us if we said it so we kept our mouths shut, but we were happy he could experience what I think is the best Indian food in the world. 

It's really a hidden gem and a classic Iringa, "punching above its weight" type of place!