South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation on Thursday confirmed that South African journalist – Angela Quintal has been released after being detained by authorities in Tanzania.
Quintal who now works for a US-based Committee to Protect Journalists‚ was detained at her hotel in Dar-es-Salaam with a CPJ colleague on Wednesday evening.
“After a very long night‚ the two journalists were taken back to their hotel. The High Commissioner Thami Mseleku is meeting with them to understand the events of last night‚” South Africa’s Dirco spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya told TimesLIVE.
He will then proceed to speak to the Tanzania authority.
“I personally spoke to her this morning and the High Commissioner early this morning‚” Mabaya added.
Quintal‚ who is the Africa Programme co-ordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists‚ had on Wednesday sent a message from her Facebook page‚ stating that she and a colleague‚ Sub-Saharan Africa representative Muthoki Mumo‚ were being detained.
“SOS we are being taken away for interrogation in Dar. We don’t know why. Taken from Southern Sun Hotel‚” she said.
Hours later‚ she posted on Twitter that they had since been released.
Her family, however took to social media to state that the message was not sent by Quintal while the CPJ called on Tanzanian authorities to immediately release its staffers.
Both of their social media accounts were suspended after the dubious post on Quintal’s account.
Quintal and Momo are in Tanzania on a reporting mission for CPJ.
Quintal is a respected journalist and former editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper‚ amongst other senior positions‚ now working for the media freedom group based in America. She is also a former national office bearer of the South African National Editors’ Forum.
-Times live
