Samia Suluhu Threats on Kenyan Soil — Tanzania Is Hunting Radio 47 Journalists Billy Miya and Mbaruk Mwalimu

A foreign government is operating inside Kenya. Tanzania's administration, angered by critical on-air commentary from Radio 47's Maskani 47 hosts Billy Miya and Mbaruk Mwalimu, has allegedly bankrolled a Kenyan insider with Ksh150 million to track the two journalists using their vehicle number plates. Billy has now gone public with these claims, naming the Tanzanian government directly, accusing it of running a surveillance operation on Kenyan soil. Kenya's intelligence and security agencies have said nothing. That silence demands an answer. What is clear is this: Billy Miya has now come forward, named a foreign government, described an active surveillance operation, and cited a specific bribe figure. Kenya's security establishment owes its citizens—and its journalists—a direct and urgent response. The story is no longer just about Tanzania. It is about whether Kenya will protect its own. Samia Suluhu Threats Cross Into Kenya as Radio 47 Journalists Face an Alleged Government Hunting Operation Billy Miya did not mince his words. He told the public that Tanzania is personally hunting him and his co-host, Mbaruk Mwalimu, because of their critical coverage of President Samia Suluhu Hassan's administration on Maskani 47 , their popular Radio 47 programme.

Billy says the operation goes beyond external pressure. He alleges that someone inside their own workplace accepted money from the Tanzanian government to expose sensitive information about the two journalists. The Tanzanian Government Allegedly Paid a Kenyan Insider Ksh150 Million to Track the Journalists "They have used an insider in the office, who gave us Ksh150 million, so that they could disclose our number plates to make it easier for the Tanzanian government to track us," Billy stated publicly.

That is not a vague threat. That is a coordinated, intelligence-style operation allegedly run by a foreign government—inside Kenya—targeting Kenyan-based journalists for doing their jobs.

Billy made his position on the matter equally clear: "We say let them come. A journalist is not a criminal."

The two hosts built a loyal and large East African audience through their willingness to speak openly about regional politics, including uncomfortable truths about Tanzania's government. Billy says that is precisely what triggered the alleged crackdown.

"Tanzania is hunting me personally and my co-presenter, meaning they don't like how we work and they don't like how we tell the truth," he said. Tanzania Has a Documented History of Crushing Press Freedom These allegations do not exist in a vacuum. Tanzania has one of the most hostile records against journalists in the region, and 2025 made that brutally clear.

During the October 2025 general elections, authorities deployed a multi-pronged assault against the press. Journalists faced targeted violence, arbitrary arrests, digital blackouts, and a deliberately opaque accreditation system designed to freeze out critical reporters. The crackdown, which intensified around the 29 October vote and the protests that followed, killed at least three journalists and left many more imprisoned. Globally, Tanzania ranks 95th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, scoring 53.68 — a figure that reflects a government deeply uncomfortable with scrutiny. Billy himself characterized the Tanzanian administration as a totalitarian regime that was never genuinely elected by the people and one that he alleges has historically stolen from and killed its own citizens. These are serious charges. But Tanzania's own actions against journalists give those charges significant weight. Kenya's Intelligence and Security Apparatus Has Stayed Dangerously Silent Here is the question that nobody in authority appears willing to answer: How does a foreign government allegedly run a Ksh150 million operation inside Kenya to track Kenyan-based journalists—and Kenya's intelligence and security organs say abs…

A foreign government is operating inside Kenya. Tanzania's administration, angered by critical on-air commentary from Radio 47's Maskani 47 hosts Billy Miya and Mbaruk Mwalimu, has allegedly bankrolled a Kenyan insider with Ksh150 million to track the two journalists using their vehicle number plates. Billy has now gone public with these claims, naming the Tanzanian government directly, accusing it of running a surveillance operation on Kenyan soil. Kenya's intelligence and security agencies have said nothing. That silence demands an answer. What is clear is this: Billy Miya has now come forward, named a foreign government, described an active surveillance operation, and cited a specific bribe figure. Kenya's security establishment owes its citizens—and its journalists—a direct and urgent response. The story is no longer just about Tanzania. It is about whether Kenya will protect its own. Samia Suluhu Threats Cross Into Kenya as Radio 47 Journalists Face an Alleged Government Hunting Operation Billy Miya did not mince his words. He told the public that Tanzania is personally hunting him and his co-host, Mbaruk Mwalimu, because of their critical coverage of President Samia Suluhu Hassan's administration on Maskani 47 , their popular Radio 47 programme.

Billy says the operation goes beyond external pressure. He alleges that someone inside their own workplace accepted money from the Tanzanian government to expose sensitive information about the two journalists. The Tanzanian Government Allegedly Paid a Kenyan Insider Ksh150 Million to Track the Journalists "They have used an insider in the office, who gave us Ksh150 million, so that they could disclose our number plates to make it easier for the Tanzanian government to track us," Billy stated publicly.

That is not a vague threat. That is a coordinated, intelligence-style operation allegedly run by a foreign government—inside Kenya—targeting Kenyan-based journalists for doing their jobs.

Billy made his position on the matter equally clear: "We say let them come. A journalist is not a criminal."

The two hosts built a loyal and large East African audience through their willingness to speak openly about regional politics, including uncomfortable truths about Tanzania's government. Billy says that is precisely what triggered the alleged crackdown.

"Tanzania is hunting me personally and my co-presenter, meaning they don't like how we work and they don't like how we tell the truth," he said. Tanzania Has a Documented History of Crushing Press Freedom These allegations do not exist in a vacuum. Tanzania has one of the most hostile records against journalists in the region, and 2025 made that brutally clear.

During the October 2025 general elections, authorities deployed a multi-pronged assault against the press. Journalists faced targeted violence, arbitrary arrests, digital blackouts, and a deliberately opaque accreditation system designed to freeze out critical reporters. The crackdown, which intensified around the 29 October vote and the protests that followed, killed at least three journalists and left many more imprisoned. Globally, Tanzania ranks 95th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, scoring 53.68 — a figure that reflects a government deeply uncomfortable with scrutiny. Billy himself characterized the Tanzanian administration as a totalitarian regime that was never genuinely elected by the people and one that he alleges has historically stolen from and killed its own citizens. These are serious charges. But Tanzania's own actions against journalists give those charges significant weight. Kenya's Intelligence and Security Apparatus Has Stayed Dangerously Silent Here is the question that nobody in authority appears willing to answer: How does a foreign government allegedly run a Ksh150 million operation inside Kenya to track Kenyan-based journalists—and Kenya's intelligence and security organs say abs…