Two journalists were reportedly killed over the last week, in Tanzania and in the Philippines, according to news reports. The International Press Institute (IPI) condemned the killings and called for full investigations into the circumstances of their deaths.
In Tanzania, Channel Ten reporter Daudi Mwangosi was allegedly killed by police on Sunday while covering a clash between opposition supporters and anti-riot officers in a village some 500 km from Dar es Salaam, reports said. He had served as bureau chief for Channel Ten in the Iringa Region, according to a report in the local newspaper, The Guardian.
According to the Media Institute of Southern Africa, which monitors press freedom developments in the region, Mwangosi was beaten by police after he intervened with them on behalf of another reporter, Godfrey Mushi, who was arrested earlier. Gabriel Mgaya, assistant editor of the Daily News, said in an email that according to his information, police “pounced on Mwangosi, beating him mercilessly in the process, making the journalist scream and ask for assistance. In controversial circumstances, one of the policemen fired a tear gas cannister at close range at the reporter’s belly, ripping open his stomach and killing him instantly.”
According to Mgaya, a five-person team has been established to investigate Mwangosi’s death, including “Ms Pili Mtambalike from the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) and Mr Theopil Makunga, Vice-Chairperson of the Tanzania Editors’ Forum (TEF) and Group Managing Editor of Mwananchi Communications Limited, publishers of ‘The Citizen’ and ‘Mwananchi’.”
Non-media members are Deputy Commissioner of Police Isaya Mungulu and Colonel Wema Wapo of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF).” They have been given one month to report, Mgaya told IPI.
“We condemn the killing of Daudi Mwangosi and send our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and colleagues,” IPI Deputy Director Anthony Mills said. “We note that an investigation has been launched and call on the authorities to ensure that the process results in those responsible being brought to justice.”
In the Maguindanao province of the Philippines, the body of radio block-timer Eddie Jesus Apostol was found by soldiers several days after the journalist and avid treasure hunter was reported missing, news reports said. The part time broadcaster, who reportedly had a show on dxND radio station, had been tied up and shot twice in the head, reports said. Apostol was either seen last on August 29 or on August 20, depending on reports. All say he disappeared after leaving on a treasure hunting expedition with an unidentified man.
It wasn’t clear what the murderer’s motive was. The victim’s brother, Ramil Apostol, a local official, told GMA News Online that police had offered two theories on the matter, neither of which was related to Eddie’s work. The first was that the killing was connected to Apostol’s treasure hunting activities; the second was that the attack was connected to a robbery, because Apostol’s new motorcycle is missing, GMA reported.
The National Union of Journalists said in a statement that Apostol’s show “discussed only developmental issues and mainly interviewed local government unit officials about their programs and projects.”
“There is too strong a tradition of radio journalists in the Philippines being targeted for the authorities to allow this incident to pass without an investigation into the motive behind the murder of Eddie Jesus Apostol,” Mills said. “We join our colleagues in the journalism community in calling for an exhaustive investigation, which results in the prosecution of the person or people behind the attack.”