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Authorities in Tanzania have banned several songs in order to protect certain “cultural norms”, the country’s information minister has told RFI. The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority on Wednesday published a list of 13 songs that it said had breached broadcasting laws. The communications authority had been given the list, which features some of the country’s top artists, by Tanzania’s arts council.

“We have our cultural norms – our attitudes and behaviours that are considered normal, therefore acceptable to Tanzanians in general,” Harrison Mwakyembe, Tanzania’s information minister, told RFI. “So what we have done is simply to take measures, as the law demands, against lyrics containing offensive language, which are totally unacceptable.”

The list features artists such as Diamond Platnumz, whose music videos have racked up millions of views online, and Ney Wa Mitego, who previously fell foul of the authorities for a song that was considered insulting to the government.

“Some of the cultural norms we protect here,” Tanzania’s information minister said in a telephone interview. “Once they are breached there are sanctions, which everybody knows about. If you walk naked in Tanzania, or if you participate in incest or homosexuality then you should accept sanctions,” he said, referring to other acts that he said are considered to be against Tanzania’s cultural norms.

The statement from Tanzania’s communications regulator announcing the ban said that the 13 songs are contrary to the country’s broadcasting values, describing them as unethical.

Tanzania’s main opposition party has hit out at the ban, saying it amounts to “censorship” and is part of efforts by President John Magufuli to crackdown on freedom of expression.

“The reasons that we are given by the government, they are very shallow. They’re just saying that these songs are against our culture. If you ask, ‘what culture’, nobody can respond to that,” said John Mrema, director of communications and foreign affairs, Chadema party.

“They are silencing every voice – we politicians, our voices have been silenced, human rights activists, they have been silenced, now it’s time for the musicians,” Mrema told RFI.

“One song was about speaking about missing Jakaya Kikwete,” said the opposition politician, referring to a track entitled, ‘I’m sorry JK’ by Nikki Mbishi. “It was just banned, somebody is singing that he’s missing the former president because of the way the current president is doing things,” Mrema added.