Intelligence Outlook: Why Minister Bashungwa and IGP Wambura’s Crackdown on Social Media Will Fail — And How Internet Censorship in Tanzania Will Backfire
How Tanzania’s Social Media Crackdown Is Fueling the Streisand Effect — And Why It Will Make Critical Content Spread Faster
Ujasusi Blog’s East Africa Monitoring Team | May 29, 2025 @ 0045 BST
Tanzania’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) Camillus Wambura and Home Affairs Minister Innocent Bashungwa have launched a coordinated directive targeting Tanzanians who share social media content critical of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, particularly foreign content originating from Kenya. Wambura has warned that any citizen — whether an influencer, journalist, or private user — who shares such material risks imprisonment. Bashungwa, during the 2025/26 budget session, echoed this hardline stance and directed the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to cooperate fully with police.
This clampdown represents a growing attempt by Tanzanian authorities to exert control over digital discourse. However, the initiative is destined to fail. Internet censorship, particularly cross-border, is notoriously difficult to enforce. Worse still, it risks activating the Streisand Effect — a phenomenon where attempts to suppress information only increase its visibility and virality.