Police in Tanzania bans opposition protests

Tanzanian police on Tuesday banned all opposition protests, following a clash with protesters.

Teargas was used to disperse the crowds because the police said they had received a tip-off that there was a likelihood that the rallies would become violent.

A statement from the police said they were informed that the opposition planned to use the public rallies to call for the launch of a campaign of civil disorder in the east African country.

Police in Tanzania have banned political rallies until further notice,say opposition party Chadema's protests=likely to cause civil disorder— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) June 7, 2016

“The police hereby prohibits all demonstrations and public rallies from taking place beginning from today until the security situation improves,” the statement said.

Tanzania’s main opposition parties called for nationwide marches to protest against the government’s decision to ban live televised parliamentary debates.

In May, the parliament’s information, education and communication unit said it would solely be responsible for the recording and dissemination of parliamentary debates across interested radio and television stations.

Following the announcement, parliamentarians recorded sittings on their mobile phones and other gadgets.

“Banning live broadcasting won’t stop MPs from reaching people, nobody can manage to challenge communication technology,” a legislator for the country’s Temeke district Abdallah Mtolea, was quoted as saying.

The parties described the move as undemocratic.