Malawian president threatens newspaper closings
New York, August 31, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns threatening comments made by President Bingu wa Mutharika against Malawian news outlets last week. Mutharika threatened to close newspapers that report critically about his administration after the private weeklies Malawi News and Weekend Nation cited a regional agency’s report forecasting food shortages in the country,…
Ugandan media celebrates, fights on after sedition ruling
With surprise and relief, Ugandan journalists, who routinely face the police’s “media crimes” unit, welcomed a partial victory for press freedom on Wednesday. The country’s constitutional court had ruled that criminal sedition was unconstitutional. Even so, there was a consensus that more legal press battles lie ahead.
Togo bans paper over story on president’s half-brother
New York, August 26, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Wednesday’s ruling by a criminal court judge in Togo to indefinitely ban the distribution of a Benin newspaper that had raised questions about the alleged involvement of a half-brother of President Faure Gnassingbé in drug trafficking.
Somali journalist killed in Mogadishu crossfire
New York, August 24, 2010–Veteran radio journalist Barkhat Awale, at left, was killed by crossfire today in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, according to local journalists and news reports. He is the second journalist killed on duty in Somalia this year, according to CPJ research. Awale, 60, director of the community radio station Hurma Radio, was…
A lesson for South African media: Look to Kenya
The chorus of voices opposing the South African government’s proposed Protection of Information Bill and state-backed ombudsman continue to grow. South Africa’s Business Day estimates the press produces three articles per day opposing what many journalists see as an attempt by the ruling party to muzzle investigative reporting. More than 30 editors from major papers published protest messages…
ANC plans taint Southern Africa’s press freedom leader
As heads of state gathered last week at the summit of the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, in Namibia, their discussions were dominated by the progress of Zimbabwe’s precarious power-sharing political agreement, which includes pledges to address a repressive media environment. Leading the mediation in the Zimbabwean crisis has been neighboring South Africa, which…
Assault, vandalism reported at Awramba Times
On August 17, 2010, two men barged into the offices of the Awramba Times, the independent Amharic-language weekly in the capital, Addis Ababa, and assaulted Moges Tikuye, a security guard, the paper reported. Tikuye suffered minor injuries. Early the next morning, assailants smashed the windows and doors of the office.
In South Africa, a new struggle for press freedom
The South African media is facing its fiercest battle yet with the country’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), over the boundaries of freedom of expression in the 16-year-old democracy. On August 8, 37 senior members of the media issued a declaration decrying recent moves on the part of the ANC to potentially restrict…
French officer proves ‘allergic’ to photos in Togo
It has been a week since Togolese photojournalist Komi Agbedivlo, better known as “Didier Ledoux,” was verbally abused by a military officer from France as he covered a political demonstration in the capital, Lome. The incident might have gone unnoticed, if not for social media and a year charged with historical symbolism for Togo, which is celebrating 50 years of independence from France. So the…