US State Department is now closely monitoring a case in which a Kenyan journalist and her South African counterpart were on Wednesday arrested in Tanzania
The two, a former Nation journalist Muthoki Mumo and South Africa's Angela Quintal, were arrested while in their Dar es Salaam hotel room and detained at an unknown location.
"We continue to engage with our Government of Tanzania counterparts on a wide range of issues, including those related to human rights," read a statement from the State Department adding that it remains committed to values od democracy, rule of law and freedom of expression among others.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), through its Twitter account, called on the Tanzanian authorities to immediately release the two members of the committee and return their passports.
“Authorities in #Tanzania should immediately release @CPJAfrica program staff @angelaquintal and @muthokimumo. They have been taken to an unknown location,” read the tweet.
According to a statement released by CPJ, the two, who were legally visiting the country, were approached by officers who then identified themselves as working with Tanzania, searched their belongings and took away their passports.
Mumo is CPJ’s Sub-Saharan Representative while Quintal is the African Program Coordinator at the organisation and previously was the Editor of Mail & Guardian.
A message from Quintal’s Twitter account revealed that the two had been taken for interrogations but their accounts have since been suspended.
CPJ believes that their colleagues’ electronics might have been compromised since a tweet was sent from Quintal’s account stating that they had been released but no one has contacted them directly from the organisation.
"It's extremely alarming that Angela Quintal's devices may have been compromised. We have had no contact with @angelaquintal and @muthokimumosince they were detained and believe both are still in
Mumo was a journalist specialising in technology and telecommunications at Business Daily but left the media house in March 2018 to join CPJ.
