Following national and presidential elections in February, decades of military rule ended with the installation of a new civilian government on May 29, headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo. Both in Nigeria and abroad, expectations ran high that the dark days of repression under former dictator Gen. Sani Abacha were finally over. However, the transition to…
The prosecution of Rwandan journalists suspected of inciting members of the ethnic Hutu community to massacre ethnic Tutsis in 1994 proceeded in fits and starts over the last three months of the year. Four journalists currently face charges that include incitement to genocide. In June, Belgian-born radio-talk show host Georges Ruggiu admitted his involvement with…
In 1999, Sierra Leone became the world’s most dangerous country for journalists, with a total of 10 journalists killed in the line of duty. (See Special Report on Sierra Leone) The combined rebel forces of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) viewed all journalists as “enemies.” During a bloody…
Ever since political rivals ousted President Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, clan warfare has left Somalia without a central government. The country’s media consists largely of small newsletters and faction-run radio stations, and independent journal-ism is virtually nonexistent in most parts of the country. Somalia is largely fractured into warring fiefdoms controlled by warlords. This…
Thabo Mbeki succeeded President Nelson Mandela following the resounding victory of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa’s second democratic election on June 2. Local journalists worried that the ANC’s victory would herald a new era of media repression. Neither Mandela nor Mbeki had ever disguised his dislike for the press, complaining that…
The kingdom of Swaziland does not have a written constitution and is presently governed through a decree passed in 1973 by King Mswati III’s predecessor, King Sobhuza II. The decree limits freedom of speech and the press by banning all political activity and organizations. The Swazi government discourages critical reporting about the royal family; many…
President Benjamin Mkapa and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party continued to enforce laws that infringe on free expression. According to the Media Institute of Southern Africa, the government of Tanzania cautioned at least 19 newspapers this year alone, threatening them with legal action over the content of articles. The government itself admitted that…
On July 23, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who seized power in 1967, announced that he would not run for reelection. Meanwhile, widely publicized charges that the ruling party rigged the most recent election have heightened official sensitivity to media criticism. In late April, the government warned independent journalists to refrain from printing false or slanderous articles…
President Yoweri Museveni and his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) made it clear that criticism would not be tolerated in the run-up to a referendum on the Ugandan political system scheduled for June 2000. Using harassment and discriminatory legislation, the NRM government managed to suppress most independent political activity, including meetings and public rallies. This…
Zambia continued to be one of southern Africa’s worst press freedom offenders. Under the repressive government of President Frederick Chiluba, local journalists faced illegal and arbitrary detention, abuses of the judicial process, and a dearth of proper media laws. A severe crackdown on Zambia’s biggest independent newspaper, The Post, came in the context of increasingly…