Politician arrested for 'insulting' President Magufuli

Tanzanian President John Magufuli.The president has come under criticism for his alleged attempts to curb the freedom of expression.

A senior leader of a Tanzanian opposition party has been arrested for insulting President John Magufuli.

He’s the latest in a line of several citizens and politicians who have been detained on similar charges.

Posting a question “Who is the President, really?” on his Facebook page was enough to get Julius Mtatiro arrested.

Police detained him as they found this phrase offensive to the president. They went on to search Mr Mtatiro’s home for the device used to post on social media.

Mr Mtatiro had reposted in solidarity with a young man in North Western Tanzania, who originally raised the question on his Facebook page and himself got arrested three days ago.

Rights activists have been criticising the Tanzanian authorities for suppressing free speech.

But the government says unlimited freedom of expression may result into a breach of peace.