Kenyan journalist Muthoki Mumo, Angela Quintal detained in Tanzania

Two journalists, including a Kenyan, were on Wednesday arrested in their hotel room in Tanzania and detained at an undisclosed location.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) staff Angela Quintal and Kenyan-born Muthoki Mumo were taken into custody from their Dar-es-Salaam hotel room by officers who identified themselves as working with the Tanzanian immigration authority.

Ms. Mumo, a former reporter with Nation Media Group’s Business Daily, is CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative  while Ms. Quintal is the Africa Program Coordinator.

According to CPJ, the officers searched the pair’s belongings and confiscated their passports before transporting them from the hotel to an unknown location.

The two journalists “were in the country on a reporting mission for CPJ” when they were arrested.

“We are concerned for the safety of our colleagues Angela Quintal and Muthoki Mumo, who were detained while legally visiting Tanzania,” said Joel Simon, CPJ’s executive director, in a press release.

The CPJ boss further called on the Tanzanian authorities to release the two and return their passports.

An earlier tweet posted on Ms. Quintal’s Twitter account, which has since been suspended, suggested that they had been freed but CPJ rubbished the claims saying her devices may have been compromised.

Earlier today, CPJ learned that two of our staff, Angela Quintal and Muthoki Mumo, were detained in #Tanzania. We fear Quintal's devices are compromised, and do not trust a Tweet from her account stating they were freed. We reiterate our call for their immediate release.

— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) November 7, 2018

It's extremely alarming that Angela Quintal's devices may have been compromised. We have had no contact with @angelaquintal or @muthokimumo since they were detained and believe both are still in the custody of Tanzanian authorities. https://t.co/AiKPW6Yjnz

— Joel Simon (@Joelcpj) November 7, 2018