Former Prime Minister, Frederick Sumaye yesterday advised Tanzanian investigative journalists to be objective by gathering enough details and evidence before publishing their stories.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Sumaye, who served as Head of Government during retired President Benjamin Mkapa`s two-term office tenure, also cautioned newspapers to be cautious of investigative stories that touched directly on the reputation and integrity of persons.
``It takes so long to clean up the name of a person which had been tainted by false allegations published in the newspapers,`` said Sumaye.
As public watchdog, the former premier said journalists and media houses needed to collect sufficient facts and evidence in the course of pursuing investigative stories implicating government officials and other people in the private sector.
Sumaye will pocket some 100m/- from Tanzania Leo as damages for a false story published by the newspaper which stated that the ex-PM operated an offshore account with a 10 trillion shillings balance, an amount which could finance the government budget for two years.
``Time is ripe for media managers and employers to facilitate the further education of journalists so that they specialise in investigative reporting on different sectors?economy, politics, business?so to avoid projection of misleading news and distortion of information.
``I am quite sure that specialisation on the part of investigative journalists could solve the problem of publishing false and poorly researched stories which sometimes appear in our media,`` he said.
He said it was not easy to restore a person`s image which had been tainted by unfounded allegations. ``It is not easy to convince people to believe that what was published about that particular individual was untrue,`` he said.
Asked if he could forgive Tanzania Leo by following the footsteps of former African Union Secretary General Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, who refrained from collecting almost 1bn/- from the East African as damages after winning a court case, Sumaye responded:
``They asked that I should pardon them. If they really had wanted me to forgive, then they should have pleaded with me earlier. But they cannot do now, because we have already signed an agreement for payment of 100m/- as ordered by the court,`` he said.
On the controversial mining contracts signed during Mkapa`s tenure of office when he (Sumaye) served as premier, he said: ``?I have already commented on these matters. If you want more information, please come to my office,`` he said.
Sumaye, a former close ally to retired President Mkapa, who is facing allegations of high-profile corruption,has completely declined to comment on Mkapa?s raging scandals, describing them as a personal matters best dealt with by Mkapa himself.
``I cannot comment on such allegations because they are directed at Benjamin Mkapa as a person, and not in his capacity as the then president of Tanzania,`` told reporters on Saturday.
Among allegations levelled against the ex-president are murky private business dealings conducted from the State House when he was in power, including his involvement in the questionable privatisation and ownership of the formerly state-run Kiwira Coal Mine along with one of his cabinet ministers, Daniel Yona.
Mkapa is also alleged to have deliberately violated the law in 2005 by ordering extension of the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services container terminal lease by an additional 15-year term under highly suspicious circumstances.
He is also accused of imposing lopsided contracts, including the purchasing of a multi-billion air defence system and the hiring of private management of Tanesco by NetGroup Solutions.
Nevertheless, Sumaye had defended the highly questionable agreements as correct government decisions