How can dancing become an act of high treason?

DW (English)

A viral dance trend emerged during Tanzania's election unrest and internet blackout. Social media users across Africa took up the "Nywi Nywi challenge" to criticize the Tanzanian government for targeting one particular young woman and mock embattled President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Transcript

00:00Across Africa, there is a rich tradition of protest through song and dance.

00:05Think of South African activists doing doing on the streets,

00:08or Kenyan Gen Z's vibing to Anguka Nayo.

00:12But how can a protest dance become an act of high treason?

00:16Well, now think Tanzania and the Muinui Challenge.

00:25Welcome to the flip side.

00:28Deadly violence characterized Tanzania's most recent election in late October.

00:33Anti-government protesters were met with live ammunition,

00:37a serious curfew, and an internet blackout.

00:40Even long after incumbent leader Samyassu Luhu Hassan

00:43was named the winner of the questionable presidential vote,

00:46the exact death toll from protests is still not entirely confirmed.

00:52The political atmosphere, meanwhile, had already soured in the run-up to that election.

00:57Luhu Hassan's rivals were excluded and protests were banned,

01:02prompting some people to take the opposition to the digital realm.

01:06And that's the story of how the Muinui Challenge was born.

01:09So, here's what happened.

01:20In English, what she said was,

01:23there shall be no disorder or disruptions whatsoever.

01:26Just go and cast your vote.

01:29Now, someone took that soundbite,

01:31remixed it with some catchy music,

01:33and this quickly turned up as a dance challenge.

01:36But the consequences in Tanzania was quite serious.

01:40The government arrested several people for mocking the president.

01:44Charges of high treason were leveled against many of them,

01:48which can lead to the death penalty.

01:51NIFA Cosmetics influencer Jennifer Joven stood out among them.

01:55By the time the authorities released Joven,

01:57in the aftermath of deadly election day protests,

02:00people were even scared to talk about the dance in Tanzania.

02:05But not so elsewhere.

02:08The Muinui Challenge had gone viral on African social media

02:11in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and other parts of Africa.

02:16So, a fun dance that truly brings people together,

02:20asserting democratic values,

02:21what damage can it do when the president just brings down everyone's morale?

02:27We had a glimpse of hope.

02:29Maybe we shall have a healing or there will be a reconciliation.

02:33But if you read the faces and the eyes of the Tanzanians,

02:36you could clearly see that the hope is faded.

02:40The people have given up.

02:41And what does a ban on such free self-expression say

02:45about the real state of affairs in Tanzania?

02:48The leadership philosophy in palaces and state houses in Africa

02:53has seemed to be that government is about the people in power,

02:59their cronies and their families enriching themselves

03:01at the expense of the rest of the population.

03:04The bottom line is this.

03:06A lot of people in Tanzania seem to want to express their disappointment in the government,

03:11especially when it comes to the election results from October.

03:14Does the government really need to be afraid of a dance challenge?

03:19And can't it just let the people be?

03:21We remind the authorities of their obligation to ensure

03:24the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

03:28The divisions might expand and the hostilities might also grow

03:33within the country and between the ruling party and the citizens

03:37because the number of the people who feel like they have lost hope has increased.

03:42Tanzania is facing mounting international pressure now,

03:46in addition to growing discontent within the country.

03:49The continent of Africa is sitting on a powder keg, sitting on a time bomb.

03:55And whether it's at the ballot box or TikTok,

03:58there's no dancing around the fact that power always lies with the people.

04:04And that's the flip side.

04:05And it's the rising alert.

04:07The talk.

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