Wasafi TV has been handed a 6 months suspension for allegedly violating Tanzania broadcast regulations during the Tumewasha festival.
According to Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) interim director Johannes Kalunge, the station breached broadcast regulations and that it had been ordered off-air for half a year. It has also been instructed to issue a public apology.
Mr. Kalungule accused the station of broadcasting live singer and socialite Gigy Money while dancing almost nude on January 1 during the Tumewasha Festival in Arusha.
He warned of further legal measures against the Tv station should it fail to adhere to the directive.
According to the TCRA boss, the decision was taken after the two parties had met. However, at the time of press, the station had not issued the apology as directed by TCRA.
Singer and socialite Money Gigy has also been fined Sh50,000 for scanty dressing while on stage and exposing herself to fans during the festival.
Wasafi FM ban
Just three months ago, Wasafi FM was banned for a week for airing abusive language, contrary to licensing regulations. The ban, announced on September 11 by TCRA officials was a result of violating Tanzania’s communication regulations by airing offensive language.
Speaking at a presser, then TCRA director James Kilaba said the station allegedly committed the violation on August 1 and August 4, 2020, on two of their programs, namely ‘Switch’ and ‘Mashamsham’.
“The station is required to stop regular programming and air an apology for the remaining hours of Friday, before starting serving the ban on September 12,” Mr. Kilaba said.
Wasafi FM apologized for the offense.
“In line with the TCRA directive, the management of Wasafi FM would like to apologize to TCRA and Tanzanians for using inappropriate language in our shows ‘Switch’ and ‘Mashamsham’ in violation of the communications act. We humbly accept the penalty from TCRA and sincerely apologize. We will also be going off-air until September 18,” Wasafi FM said In a statement released hours after the ban.
In a similar case, Clouds FM, a sister station to the two suffered a similar fate after the TCRA suspended them for seven days for violating election coverage regulations. TCRA said that the two sister stations were suspended for announcing the outcome of party nominations without approval from the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in breach of the Political Party Elections Broadcast Act of 2015.
