Tanzania: Diamond Platnumz out on bail after 'indecent' footage arrest

According to the edaily website, the singer was summoned by the Tanzanian authorities yesterday morning to record a statement in relation to the videos he shared on his Instagram page on Sunday night, which showed him separately in the company of two women.

Dar es Salaam specialist police commander Lazarus Mambosasa said the singer was detained for several hours before being released on bail pending further investigations. The videos have since been deleted from his page but are still available online.

The arrest was announced yesterday in Parliament by the Minister of Information, Arts, Culture and Sports, Harrison Mwakyembe, after Ulanga MP Goodluck Mlinga asked the minister what steps the government had taken to prevent the promotion of immorality on social media.

“We are not idle. We passed the Electronic and Postal Communication Act regulations recently and for your information we have arrested a popular musician, Diamond, and he will be charged for posting indecent content on social media," Mwakyembe said.

“The laws governing the Tanzanian society have been in existence for a long time but never fully implemented, but the current government has developed mechanisms currently being used to implement the said laws."

Mwakyembe said Diamond Platnumz would be arraigned in court soon and charged alongside female singer Nandy, who was also summoned by the National Arts Council of Tanzania (BASATA) on Saturday after a nude video of her in bed with her lover was leaked online.

Mwakyembe also took the opportunity to warn young people against misusing social media, urging them to be at the forefront of promoting Tanzanian norms and values.

"I would like to urge the youth to stop using the Internet to post obscene content. The government will continue to safeguard the country's culture for present and future generations," he said.

Mwakyembe has been working closely with BASATA and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to regulate the Tanzanian creative sector after President John Magufuli ordered the TCRA in December to take legal action against artists employing nudity in their videos and to enforce laws governing the media to curb moral erosion.

“There are key moral values that we as Tanzanian people have been losing of late,” Magufuli said. “The moral fabric is being eroded gradually. It is our responsibility to speak out and correct matters, when immorality is taking over our daily activities, interactions and culture.”