THE government yesterday rubbished reports by some Kenyan media that Tanzania is prying in Kenyan politics ahead of the August general election.
For sometimes, there has been misleading reports in some Kenyan media that Tanzania is backing some politicians in Kenya. The recent misleading article, which was published in the weekly newspaper ‘Citizen’ with the title ‘Magufuli lures Museven to back Raila,’ is one such report.
The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Aziz Mlima, told the ‘Daily News on Saturday’ that Tanzania has never thought to meddle in Kenya or any other country’s internal affairs.
He said the accusations that are levelled against Tanzania that it has entered into an agreement with some politicians are not true.
“We understand that during election campaigns, many things happen, some candidates follow principles of democracy and others decide to play dirty game. I want to assure the public that the government of Tanzania is not involved in anyway in Kenyan politics,” he said.
According to Dr Mlima, Tanzania respects and believes in the principles of democracy and good governance and thus there is no way it could stick its nose into Kenyan internal political affairs.
He added that Tanzania will be the last country to interfere in other countries’ businesses. The PS said the two countries have good relationship and that the misleading media reports should be ignored to maintain the historical good relationship.
“We all remember that in 1960, the founding father discussed the possibility of delaying Tanzania independence until Kenya becomes free too,” he said.
He asked the public to ignore the misleading reports in some of Kenyan media saying they were unhealthy for the growth of democracy and good relations in the region.
“We are asking both Tanzanians and Kenyans to understand us, our aim is to see the East African Community (EAC) moving forward and business growing,” noted Dr Mlima.
He added: “Media organisations must research and publish information that helps our countries’ to move forward instead of creating tension by misleading the public.”
©Alleastafrica and Daily News
