Africa

2011

  
Protesters in Capetown decry secrecy bill. (Independent Newspapers Cape)

South Africa resumes debate on secrecy bill

Parliamentary hearings on South Africa’s Protection of Information Bill resumed last week with heated debate over provisions threatening to restrict press freedom and access to information. For journalists, much uncertainty remains over the final product and when it will be completed.

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Somaliland editor sentenced to 3 years in prison

New York, January 24, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a three-year prison sentence handed to a newspaper editor in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland in connection with a story alleging public corruption. 

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Somaliland editor sentenced to 3 years in prison

New York, January 24, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a three-year prison sentence handed to a newspaper editor in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland in connection with a story alleging public corruption. 

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Marrion P'udongo, known as Pastor, is a widely respected African fixer who has fallen ill and needs a kidney transplant. (Bryan Mealer)

Pastor Marrion, a Congolese fixer, needs your help

A group of international journalists is seeking donations to pay the costs of a kidney transplant for Marrion P’udongo, a Congolese fixer who has worked tirelessly with reporters from around the world to make sure his country’s story is told.

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Zimbabwean editor Golden Maunganidze reported harassment of vendors of his newspaper. (Masvingo Mirror)

In Zimbabwe, a rare retreat in a media attack

In Zimbabwe, where journalists face constant harassment and repressive legislation, it’s a rare occasion that the army would back off from its interference with an independent newspaper. But that’s what seemed to happen this week in rural Gutu.

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Gambia bans only independent radio station airing news

New York, January 14, 2011–Gambian authorities on Thursday shut the only independent radio station in the nation that has continued to broadcast news, according to local journalists.

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Ugandan magazine questioned over Museveni cartoon

New York, January 13, 2011–Police in Kampala arrested the director and editor of the monthly newsmagazine Summit Business Review on Tuesday in connection with a caricature of President Yoweri Museveni that appeared on the cover of the October issue.Director Samuel Sejjaaka and Editor Mustapha Mugisha were released on bond but face continued interrogations, Sejjaaka told…

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Zimbabwe hikes media fees under draconian media law

New York, January 13, 2010–Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government should repeal the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists said today after a late 2010 amendment to the legislation hiked mandatory registration and accreditation fees for the press working in the country by as much as 400 percent.

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Soldiers guard state television station RTI. (AFP)

The struggle continues for power, and media, in Ivory Coast

In Ivory Coast, the tense post-election dispute between incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and rival and self-proclaimed president-elect Alassane Ouattara is a power struggle for control of national institutions–including the sole state media outlet, Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI).

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Umuvugizi

CPJ opposes prison terms for 2 Rwandan journalists

New York, January 7, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists opposes prosecution demands for lengthy prison sentences for the editor and deputy editor of the independent weekly Umurabyo. State Prosecutor Agustin Nkusi requested a 33-year prison sentence for Editor Agnès Uwimana, at left, and 12 years for her deputy, Saidati Mukakibibi, at a High Court hearing on Thursday in…

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2011