Recent is relative. I've had the same initial response to learning that a story is 10 or 20 years old (or more). But I think that reflects more our presumptions, cultural context, and age, than it does a deficiency in reporting. Unless Tanzania has experienced a significant and pertinent cultural shift since then, the year 2001 could be just as recent as yesterday as far as it concerns subject matter context.

Also, it's not like the year is buried 10 pages in. It's midway through a relatively short article. It's just as likely the writer put the year in the middle of the story out of artist license than as a way to obscure the timeline.