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Interview

Tanzania: Promoting and Improved Legal Environment for Media Freedom in Zanzibar

22/10/2020

Interview with Deus Valentine Rweyemamu, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Strategic Litigation, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Deus Valentine Rweyemamu is a social justice activist and governance researcher and advisor. With over a decade experience working to promote social justice in the Eastern African region, he joined colleagues to set up Center for Strategic Litigation (CSL) in 2018 amid concerns over growing impunity and gross human violations in Tanzania. Mr Rweyemamu’s biography mentions “His passion for social justice and human rights stems from over a decade working in the Eastern African region with some of the most marginalized communities and vulnerable groups.

UNESCO: What is the mission of the Organization you are working for?

Deus Valentine Rweyemamu: “The mission of the Center for Strategic Litigation is to promote a constitutional culture in which the promotion of justice for all and rule of law are essential pillars of a democratic state, and citizens are empowered to advance their fundamental rights and freedoms indiscriminately.”

UNESCO: What will you do thanks to the grant by the Global Media Defence Fund?

DVR: “We will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the media legal context in Zanzibar and produce reliable evidence of the legal hurdles for media freedom in the country. The grant will also allow us to challenge those aspects of the law that infringe on media freedom.”

UNESCO: What will be the impact of this action?

DVR: “The impact of the project will be an improved legal environment for media freedom in Zanzibar. Challenging laws that impede media freedom is a means to obtaining a sustainable solution to historical obstacles to media freedom.”

UNESCO: Any suggestions/recommendations you would like to make to UNESCO as administrator of this Fund and to its donors?

DVR: “My suggestion would be for UNESCO to provide, nurture and develop a strong network/community of practice among the grantees who are working in similar ways to gain knowledge, experience and inspiration. 

My suggestion is also for UNESCO to be patient, flexible and adaptable given that most of the work is undertaken in a rapidly evolving environment in which there is a lot of uncertainty.”