Africa

  

At least 5 Ghanaian journalists attacked covering Ashanti elections 

Abuja, February 20, 2025—Ghanaian authorities must swiftly investigate February 11’s attack on five journalists covering Council of State elections in the southern Ashanti Region and ensure the press can do their jobs without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “Journalists play a critical democratic role in reporting on elections, yet this duty to inform is…

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Malagasy journalist Fernand Cello

In Madagascar, journalist detained on false news charge over Facebook post

Dakar, February 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malagasy authorities to immediately release investigative journalist Fernand Cello, who has been in detention since his January 29 arrest over a Facebook post about President Andry Rajoelina. On January 30, a judge charged Cello with spreading false news and undermining national security and placed him…

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CPJ, 102 partners call for continued human rights scrutiny of South Sudan

CPJ joined 102 other non-governmental organizations in a joint letter urging the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to maintain its calls for accountability in South Sudan amid the country’s ongoing and widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, “egregious violations of women’s and girls’ rights” and the persistence of “localized conflict and intercommunal violence.” …

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Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema, who has previously promised to positivly reform Zambia’s existing cyber crime legislation, said he was open to further dialogue with civil society on the two bills. (Photo: Reuters/Shelley Christians)

CPJ urges Zambian government to withdraw cyber bills from parliament

The Committee to Protect Journalists sent a letter calling on the Zambian government to withdraw the Cyber Security Bill 2024 and Cyber Crimes Bill 2024 from the country’s National Assembly for a comprehensive review to ensure they align with constitutional protections of freedom of the press as well as regional and international standards on freedom of expression.  CPJ raised concerns that…

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The bloodstained jacket of journalist Ohemeng Tawiah is shown. Armed men attacked Tawiah with stones and machetes after he and his camera operator joined a police team investigating allegations of illegal mining at a site in Ghana’s northern Ashanti region on December 20, 2024. (Photo: Courtesy of Tawiah)

No accountability after Ghanaian journalists attacked while covering illegal mining investigation

Abuja, February 6, 2025—Armed men, some wearing military camouflage, attacked journalist Ohemeng Tawiah with stones and machetes on December 20, 2024, after Tawiah and his camera operator, Joseph Kusi, joined a police team investigating allegations of illegal mining at a site in Ghana’s northern Ashanti region.  Tawiah told CPJ he provided police with a written…

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An image of journalist Albino Sibia's last words after being shot by police in Mozambique on December 12 (left); reporter Pedro Júnior is transported to the hospital after being shot while covering Sibia's December 14 funeral (center); and a selfie of journalist Arlindo Chissale, who went missing on January 7 and who may be dead, according to media reports. (Images, from left: screenshot via José Pimentel Teixeira/ YouTube; photo by Egilio Litsure, photo by Arlindo Chissale)

Blogger killed, editor missing as Mozambique’s press freedom crisis deepens

New York, February 5, 2025—“Help. I got shot and they keep shooting…I am dying.” These were among the last words that Mozambican blogger Albino Sibia streamed live on Facebook on December 12, 2024, after a police officer shot him twice in the back as he was filming police action against protestors. Sibia, also known as…

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Journalists covering eastern DRC conflict face death threats, censorship

Kinshasa, January 30, 2025—The M23 rebel group’s assault on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern city of Goma has brought familiar dangers for Congolese journalists, who for years have navigated intimidation and attacks from government and armed groups in the country’s restive, mineral-rich east. Advances by the M23, which United Nations experts say is…

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Guinean regulator bans news site Dépêche Guinée

Dakar, January 30, 2025—Guinea’s High Authority of Communication should reverse its decision to indefinitely suspend the privately owned news site Dépêche Guinée and ensure the public has unrestrained access to diverse media sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “The banning of Dépêche Guinée represents an escalation of the Guinean communications regulator’s censorship efforts and…

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A traffic police officer gestures directing motorists along a street, following a night of gunfire after security forces moved to arrest the former head of the intelligence service, in Juba, South Sudan November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Samir Bol

South Sudan blocks social media access amid unrest

Nairobi, January 24, 2025– The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on South Sudanese authorities to reverse its social media ban and to ensure that the public has open and reliable internet access, which is essential for news gathering amid unrest in the country. “Blocking social media access is a blanket act of censorship and a disproportionate response…

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(Courtesy of Joseph Perzoladepecheinfo)

Benin’s regulator suspends 6 media outlets until further notice

Dakar, January 23, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Beninese authorities to reverse their January 21 orders suspending six privately owned media outlets — news sites Reporter Médias Monde, Les Pharaons, and Crystal News, the Mme Actu Tiktok account, and Le Patriote and Audace Info newspapers — and to return the press card of Audace Info’s publication director…

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