Journalists report high tension in Tarime

Nine journalists from mainstream newspapers and broadcasting stations who were arrested on Thursday, 30 August, in Kubiterere village, Tarime District, as they sought to witness the signing of a peace agreements between the warring Waanchari and Walyanchoka clans, have been freed, according to the ‘Guardian’ newspaper. The journalists were arrested on the orders of Tarime District Commissioner Pascal Mabiti, on the basis of claims that they had exaggerated reports of the clashes, during which over 400 house were reportedly set on fire and several people killed.

The freed journalists said Kubiterere was “full of tension”, with many people - armed with bows and arrows - ready for violent clashes at any time, the ‘Guardian’ reported. Kubiterere villagers said that bringing clan elders together for talks would not bring peace on its own; they proposed that policemen should be deployed to patrol the area, that a permanent police post should be built, and that national, regional and district leaders should visit Tarime to check on the development of the relationship between the clans, the journalists said. Women said they could not work their fields for fear of being raped by rival clan members, in the wake one alleged such incident, they added.