ZIMBABWE
AUGUST 12, 2005 Posted September 12, 2005 Willie Mponda, The Sun LEGAL ACTION Mponda, editor of community newspaper The Sun in the central town of Gweru, was convicted of publishing false information “prejudicial to the state” under the repressive Public Order and Security Act (POSA), according to local sources. He was fined Zimbabwean $100,000 (U.S.…
A day after station is shut, Ugandan talk show host is arrested
New York, August 12, 2005—An independent radio and print journalist was arrested today in connection with a talk show focusing on the July helicopter crash that killed southern Sudanese leader John Garang. Andrew Mwenda, a journalist with Monitor Publications, was still in custody late this evening, according to sources at the news organization.
Journalist for banned newspaper goes on trial
New York, August 12, 2005—The trial of a journalist accused of working without accreditation for the banned Daily News opened yesterday in a Harare court, according to his lawyer and the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA). Kelvin Jakachira faces up to two years in prison in what is seen as a test case for…
UGANDA
AUGUST 11, 2005 UPDATED: September 8, 2005 KFM Radio CENSORED Ugandan authorities shut the prominent independent radio station a day after it aired a talk show about the July helicopter crash that killed southern Sudanese leader John Garang. The action came a day after President Yoweri Museveni threatened to shut down any news outlet that…
Ugandan radio station ordered closed after show on helicopter crash
New York, August 11, 2005—Ugandan authorities shut a prominent independent radio station today after it aired a talk show about the July helicopter crash that killed southern Sudanese leader John Garang, according to local sources. The suspension came a day after President Yoweri Museveni threatened to shut down any news outlet that “plays around with…
Media council orders independent newspaper suspended
New York, August 10, 2005—Gabon’s media regulatory council has indefinitely suspended the independent bimonthly newspaper Nku’u Le Messager over an editorial it says insulted the council, according to local news reports and the publication director. In a statement issued Tuesday, the council said the suspension would be lifted only if the newspaper changed its editorial…
GABON
AUGUST 9, 2005 Updated: September 7, 2005 Nku’u Le Messager CENSORED Gabon’s media regulatory council suspended the independent bimonthly newspaper Nku’u Le Messager over an editorial it said insulted the council, according to local news reports and the publication director. In a statement, the council said the suspension would be lifted only if the newspaper…
Journalist’s expulsion draws concern
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled by your government’s recent expulsion of Rodrick Mukumbira, a Zimbabwean national who had been working as a journalist in Botswana since 2002. Local press freedom groups have expressed concern that the expulsion may be linked to his work.
Freed journalist is expelled from Jowhar
New York, August 9, 2005—A radio reporter jailed for five days in Jowhar was released without charge on Sunday, but was expelled from the town and told not to come back, according to the journalist and local sources. Abdullahi Kulmiye Adow, a reporter for the Mogadishu-based independent radio station HornAfrik, had been detained since August…
CHAD
AUGUST 8, 2005 Updated: October 17, 2005 Michaël Didama, Le Temps IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION Michaël Didama, director of the private weekly Le Temps, was convicted on charges of defamation and incitement to hatred and sentenced to six months in jail in connection with articles describing rebel groups in eastern Chad, according to local sources.