Former Standard Group CEO Sam Shollei on Wednesday evening, March 17, blasted KTN News for failing to report the death of Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli in good time.
At the time of the breaking news, the station was airing a rerun of the Front Row program while other media counterparts had already aired the breaking news.
"I started KTN News 5 years ago to break news 24 hours a day. I am saddened watching KTN and they are not reporting Magufuli's death. Kudos Citizen but I am ashamed by what KTN News is doing! KTN News was supposed to be CNN of Africa!!" Sholei expressed.
The announcement of Magufuli's death took place in the dead of the night, catching some of the media outlets unaware.
However, some of the newspapers had already published and started circulating their newspapers when the news was announced.
Daily nation columnist Gabriel Ogunda poked fun after posting three national papers which showed who adapted to the unlikely situation fast.
"You can tell who lied to the interviewing panel when they said they could work in a fast-paced dynamic environment," reads his statement.
Over the past week, there had been speculations of the president's whereabouts since he had not been seen in public since February 27, 2021.
His cause of death was listed as heart disease and occurred at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute in Tanzania.
The Tanzanian government did not address widely circulated reports claiming the fallen president had contracted Covid-19.
The Tanzanian strongman, who also had an underlying heart condition, shocked the world with his refusal to acknowledge the Covid-19 pandemic.
