Authorities across East and Southern Africa continued to impose severe restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom over the past year, Amnesty International said on World Press Freedom Day.
The human rights organization documented widespread intimidation, harassment and detention of journalists in countries across the region. Authorities continued to target and brutally destroy those who dared to report allegations of corruption and human rights abuses.
“Threats to the right to freedom of expression and media have continued unabated across the Eastern and Southern African region over the past year. Speaking out against or questioning government policies, actions or inaction, or publicly sharing information deemed harmful to the government carries the risk of arrest, arbitrary detention or death,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and South Africa.
Speaking out against or scrutinizing government policies, actions, or inaction, or publicly sharing information deemed harmful to the government carries the risk of arrest, arbitrary detention, or death
Tigere Chagutah Regional Director, Amnesty International, ESARO
Amnesty International has also documented increased deliberate internet disconnection and the introduction of strict cyber security laws aimed at silencing the media and controlling the spread of information.
Hiding behind the “law”: silencing journalists by any means
Across East and Southern Africa, authorities have used national security laws, including counter-terrorism and cyber security legislation to undermine the right to freedom of expression, punish journalists and suppress media freedom .
In Madagascar, the Cybercrime Code and the Communications Code have forced journalists to self-censor due to fear of reprisals. Broad and vaguely defined provisions in the laws such as “attacks on state security”, “defamation”, “spreading false news” and “incitement to hatred” have been used to intimidate, harass and target journalists.
In February the Zimbabwean authorities banned two journalists from covering government functions in the Midlands province. The Midlands Minister of State and Devolution has singled out Sydney Mubaiwa (Mirror Midlands bureau chief) and NewsDay’s Stephen Chadenga who were at a meeting organized by the Gender Commission and ordered them not to attend future government engagements.
In May, Zimbabwe enacted the Criminal Law Amendment (Codification and Reform) Act (Patriot Act) which threatens media freedom as it criminalizes the willful injury to the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe”. Journalists who attend a meeting where there is “reason to believe” that its purpose is “to consider or plan armed intervention” may be charged even if they attend only for reporting purposes.
In South Sudan, Amnesty International documented intimidation, harassment and censorship of journalists, including cases where security officers removed newspaper articles deemed critical of the transitional government, prevented journalists from covering certain political parties, confiscated accreditation documents as well as journalists’ equipment and suspended the operation of some media.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the authorities continued their relentless attacks on the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, against the backdrop of general elections held in December 2023, inter-communal violence in some areas and armed escalation in eastern provinces.
Over the past year, authorities have arbitrarily shut down a dozen media outlets and programs, with charges ranging from “spreading false rumors” to “inciting rebellion against the established authorities” and “defamation.”
In September 2023, journalist Stanis Bujakera was arrested and prosecuted for “spreading false rumours” and “forgery” after Jeune Afrique published an article implicating the security services in the assassination of politician Chérubin Okende.
In March 2024, Bujakera was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison, despite authorities failing to prove any criminal offense and liability in the case. He was eventually released from prison because he had already been held for more than six months. At least three more journalists are currently being held on trumped-up charges across the country.
In Burundi, journalist Floriane Irangabiye is serving a ten-year prison sentence for critical comments she made about the Burundian government during an online radio broadcast. In January 2023 the High Court of Mukaza found her guilty of “endangering the integrity of the national territory”. She appealed twice unsuccessfully and the Supreme Court upheld her conviction on 13 February 2024.
In Zambia, On April 13, police officers arrested Rodgers Mwimba and Innocent Phiri in the town of Kafue, south of the capital, Lusaka, while they were filming a fight between police officers and two opposition party leaders. They were detained at Kafue Police Station, forced to delete their footage and released two hours later.
In Malawi, Macmillan Mhone was arrested and charged with “publishing news likely to cause fear and anxiety” for a story he wrote in August 2023 about the fraudulent activities of a businessman who had been charged with conspiring to defraud the Malawi government.
Amid persistent armed conflict since 2020, Ethiopian authorities have used state of emergency laws to arbitrarily arrest journalists. As of August 2023, at least nine journalists have been detained, while five remain in custody. Among them, three face terrorism charges, which could carry the death penalty if convicted.
In Somalia, journalists faced threats, harassment, intimidation, beatings, arbitrary arrests and prosecutions. In February 2023, a court in Mogadishu sentenced Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, journalist and secretary-general of the Somali Journalists’ Union (SJS), to two months in prison for “disobeying government orders” after SJS held a press conference to protest the instructions issued by the Ministry of Intelligence regarding the coverage of an attack against the armed group al Shabab.
Authorities in East and Southern Africa must release illegally detained journalists, stop targeting the press simply for doing its job
Tigere Chagutah
In Mozambique, where journalists regularly face intimidation, harassment, death threats, violence and even murder, newspaper editor Joao Fernando Chamusse was killed in his home in Maputo in December 2023. João Fernando Chamusse was the editor of the newspaper Ponto por Ponto and commentator on TV Sucesso, which faces increasing bullying. Its CEO, Gabriel Júnior, received death threats recently.
In Lesotho, investigative journalist Ralikonelo Joki, known as Leqhashasha, was ambushed and fatally shot outside the Apokeka FM studio in Maseru in May 2023. Prior to his murder, believed to be related to his work as a journalist, he had received death threats on three occasions.
“Amnesty International reiterates its call on the East and Southern African authorities to release illegally detained journalists, stop targeting the press simply for doing their jobs and end the abuse of the justice system to silence journalists and critics and suppress media freedom,” said Tigere Chagutah