Tanzanian comedian and actor, Idris Sultan who won the Big Brother Africa show in 2014, has been arrested for allegedly ‘cyber-bullying’ the President of Tanzania, John Magufuli.
“They are questioning him for allegedly contravening section 23 of the act. In a nutshell, they [the police]are accusing him of bullying the president through that video clip,” Ishabakaki told the BBC.
“But I strongly believe, as a comedian, my client is only doing satire, and satire can be political as well.”
The law states that someone should not “initiate or send any electronic communication using a computer system to another person with intent to coerce, intimidate, harass or cause emotional distress”.
Kwa siku moja tukabadilishana kazi ili a-enjoy birthday yake kwa amani ??? pic.twitter.com/Ch10m4GW7i
— M O G U L (@IdrisSultan) October 30, 2019
If convicted, the comedian could face imprisonment for at least three years or a fine of 5m Tanzanian shillings (₦837,790) or both. In October 2019, Idris Sultan was arrested under the same law for sharing an edited image of his head on the president’s body and vice versa on Twitter during Magufuli’s birthday. He was later freed without charge.