Sheikh Shaban Pembe, the Imam of Mtambani Mosque in Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam Region, has noted that the Kenyan media jumped into action immediately after the October 29 polls, and has been giving the matter significant airtime.
He has stated that the same has been the case regarding the protests that erupted on the day of the election, which resulted in chaos in some parts of the country.
The Sheikh says it is time for Tanzanians to question the motive behind this and determine whether it is driven by concern for Tanzania or whether it is part of the Kenyan government's secret agenda against the Tanzanian administration.
"Let's ask ourselves whether it is out of sincere sympathy for Tanzania, or is there a hidden agenda behind the umbrella of justice?" he said on Saturday.
He suspects the latter is the case, alleging that this has everything to do with the fact that Tanzania has grown into Kenya's main economic rival in the region.
According to him, the Kenyan government might be out to spoil things for Tanzania, which has moved from being an importer of Kenyan produce to a producer of its own goods.
The Kenyan media began reporting on the developments in Tanzania—especially the anti-government protests that erupted on October 29—at a time when the Tanzanian government had imposed a media shutdown on local news outlets.
President Samia Suluhu's government also imposed a media shutdown, apparently to ensure that videos recorded during the protests did not spread or make it out of the country.
