Advertisement

Ex-chief of Tanzanian state broadcaster charged with abuse of office

Friday February 23 2018
tido

Former Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) Director General, Tido Mhando, at Kisutu Magistrate's Court, Dar es Salaam on January 25, 2018. He is charged with abuse of office. PHOTO | THE CITIZEN

By DOROTHY NDALU

A former director-general at the Tanzanian state-run broadcaster appeared before a Dar es Salaam court on Friday to face charges of abuse of office.

Tido Mhando is accused, in four counts, of entering into a deal with a Dubai-based media firm when he was the head of the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), contrary to Tanzanian laws on procurement.

The prosecutor Leonard Swai said Mr Mhando on various dates in June, August, September and November 2008 signed agreements with Channel2 Group (BVI) in Dubai on a conveyance agreement for broadcast programmes, digital terrestrial broadcasting, distribution equipment and broadcasting tower, and on digital terrestrial broadcasting infrastructure, without following public procurement process.

Mr Swai said the deals were benefiting BVI.

Mr Mhando is also accused of economic sabotage with the government saying it lost TshTsh887.1 million ($392,457) during his tenure at TBC.

He denied all the charges.

Advertisement

Mr Mhando is a veteran journalist having worked for both local and foreign media organisations including Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL), Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Deutsche Welle and Voice of America. He worked at Voice of Kenya (VOK) now state-run Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).

He is currently the deputy managing director at Azam Media Limited in Tanzania.

His case will be heard on February 28.

-Additional reporting by The Citizen.

Advertisement