What You Need to Know
Billy Miya, a journalist from Radio 47, alleges that the Tanzanian government is threatening him and his co-host due to their critical coverage of President Samia Suluhu Hassan. He claims an insider was paid to disclose their information, intensifying fears of government retaliation against dissenting voices in journalism.
Africa-Press – Tanzania. Radio 47 journalist Billy Miya has gone on record, alleging that the Tanzanian government is personally hunting him and his Maskani 47 co-host, Mbaruk Mwalimu, in response to their critical on-air coverage of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration.
The two host the Maskani 47 show on Radio 47, a Kenyan media platform with a significant following across East Africa, where their commentary on regional political affairs, including Tanzanian matters, has consistently attracted a large and loyal audience.
Billy further alleges that an insider within their own workplace was compromised, claiming this individual was paid a colossal sum of Ksh150 million to betray the journalists and secretly funnel sensitive, identifying information to the Tanzanian government.
“Tanzania is hunting me personally and my co-presenter, meaning they don’t like how we work, they don’t like how we tell the truth,” stated Billy.
He added, “ As we are speaking, they have used an insider in the office, who gave us Ksh150 million, so that they could disclose our number plates to make it easier for the Tanzanian Government to track us.”
Central to his claims is the assertion that the government’s anger stems from the journalists’ approach to their work, particularly their habit of speaking uncomfortable truths about Tanzanian politics, which Billy says the government finds threatening and unacceptable.
For some time, the hosts were openly critical of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her government on air, drawing significant attention from audiences on both sides of the Kenya-Tanzania border and generating sharp reactions from pro-government circles in Tanzania.
In March 2026, Billy Miya and Mbaruk Mwalimu appeared to reverse their position entirely, even joking publicly that they were now ready to work with President Samia Suluhu Hassan and were open to campaigning on her behalf.
That shift did not go unnoticed, and it drew swift backlash from commentator Dr. Cassypool, who publicly condemned the pair for what he saw as a contradiction, given their earlier sustained and intense attacks on air against Samia’s administration.
It is within this complicated and tense context that Billy Miya has now come forward with a series of serious allegations, claiming the Tanzanian government has mounted an organised, multi-pronged operation specifically designed to track and silence them.
In his statement, Billy also characterised the present Tanzanian government as a totalitarian regime that, in his own words, ‘was never genuinely elected by the people’ and one that he alleges has historically stolen from and taken the lives of its own citizens.
Tanzania has a long history of suppressing journalists’ freedom. In the recent past, journalists were heavily suppressed during the October 2025 Tanzania elections through a combination of targeted violence, arbitrary detentions, restrictive digital blackouts, and opaque accreditation processes.
The crackdown, which intensified around the 29 October general elections and subsequent protests, resulted in the deaths of at least three journalists, with many more imprisoned.
Globally, Tanzania is ranked 95th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), with a score of 53.68.
In light of this, Billy responded to the alleged threats with open defiance, declaring, “We say let them come. A journalist is not a criminal,” refusing to be intimidated or silenced.
Tanzania has a troubling history of suppressing press freedom, particularly during politically sensitive periods. The October 2025 elections saw a significant crackdown on journalists, with reports of violence, detentions, and restrictions on media operations. This environment has fostered a climate of fear among journalists, who often face threats for their reporting. The situation has drawn international concern, as Tanzania ranks poorly on global press freedom indices, reflecting ongoing challenges to journalistic independence and safety.
