Africa

  
Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama at the United Nations headquarters in New York in 2025.

Ghana court issues gag order, fines reporter for requesting comment

Abuja, January 21, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ghanaian authorities to protect public interest reporting after a court fined Innocent Samuel Appiah for asking a businesswoman to comment on allegations of fraud as he was investigating her activities. Justice Nana Brew ruled that freelance journalist Appiah had violated the privacy of Cynthia Adjei,…

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Major-General Horta Inta-a, the new transitional president, attends the swearing-in ceremony of Major-General Tomas Djassi as the new chief of staff of the Armed Forces in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, on November 27.

Journalists at risk as Guinea-Bissau junta bans ‘unauthorized’ press conferences

New York, January 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on military authorities in Guinea-Bissau to rescind an order prohibiting unauthorized press conferences and public statements, as reporters warned of an increasingly repressive media environment following the junta’s November 26 seizure of power. “During times of political instability, freedom of expression and access to information…

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Sandra Muhoza

Burundi: Sandra Muhoza sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2nd trial

Nairobi, January 15, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burundian authorities to end the persecution of jailed journalist Sandra Muhoza who has been given a four-year sentence for comments she made on WhatsApp, after almost two years in detention. Muhoza, who was informed of the court’s decision on January 14, was also fined 200,000…

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Ugandan presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, wears a helmet and a bulletproof vest, during a December campaign rally.

Journalists assaulted, internet shut down ahead of Uganda elections

Ugandan journalist Ssematimba Bwegiire lost consciousness immediately after a security officer electrocuted him with a stun gun and pepper-sprayed him in the mouth. But he did not report the incident, reflecting widespread disillusionment among the media about authorities’ commitment to press freedom in elections on January 15. Bwegiire, a reporter with privately owned Radio Simba,…

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Rwanda's President Paul Kagame speaks in Washington, D.C., in December.

CPJ urges Rwanda to improve press freedom ahead of UN rights review

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Rwanda to release all journalists imprisoned for their work and to investigate allegations that prison officials have mistreated and tortured journalists, in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of Rwanda’s Fourth Cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on January 21. During the review, U.N….

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Nigerian YouTube-based journalist Mathew Ojoduma

Nigerian journalist Matthew Ojoduma cleared, released after 9+ month detention in Benin

Editor’s note: The case against Matthew Ojoduma was dropped, and he was released on November 25, 2025, after evidence did not support the allegations against him, according to court documents reviewed by CPJ. The headline of this alert has been updated to reflect his release. Abuja, November 12, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on…

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Congolese journalist John Kabamba is seen presenting his show, draped in the national flag.

Journalist John Kabamba missing after interviewing rebel in eastern DRC

Kinshasa, December 23, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to urgently ensure the safety and freedom of television host John Kabamba, who went missing from Kinshasa, the capital, on December 14, and to reverse his 90-day suspension from media activities. “The disappearance of journalist John Kabamba…

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A woman waits at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE) check-in office at the U.S. immigration court in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 18, 2025. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado

Chinese citizen journalist seeking asylum in US faces deportation

Update: Following the DHS’s decision to drop its proposal to deport the journalist to Uganda, CPJ calls on the agency to ensure that the journalist can stay in the U.S. while continuing the process of applying for asylum. Washington, D.C., December 18, 2025—The Trump administration’s plan to deport a Chinese citizen journalist — who fled…

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Burundian journalist Sandra Muhoza

127 African women journalists write to jailed Burundian Sandra Muhoza as she returns to court

Nairobi, December 18, 2025—On the first anniversary of the conviction of ailing Burundian journalist Sandra Muhoza, 127 African women journalists have written her a joint letter expressing solidarity, calling for her unconditional release, and decrying her imprisonment as robbing the public of “an important voice.” Muhoza is expected in court on December 19, a family…

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Cameroon President Paul Biya (center) gestures as he celebrates his inauguration at the National Assembly in Yaounde on November 6, 2025.

Post-election Cameroon: ‘The regime considers the press to be its last enemy’

In his campaign to win an eighth term, Cameroonian President Paul Biya pledged to “strengthen measures to protect freedom of expression and journalists” in one of Africa’s most dangerous countries for the press. But six journalists who spoke to CPJ after October’s contested election — which opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary claimed to have won,…

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