Africa

On January 6, 2021, officers with Nigeria’s Security and Civil Defence Corps harassed at least three photojournalists in Abuja, the capital, seized their cameras, and deleted images they had taken, according to the journalists, who spoke with CPJ, and news reports. The three newspaper photographers—Olatunji Obasa with Punch, Olu Aremo with Leadership, and Mudashiru Atanda…

New York, January 14, 2021 – Zimbabwe authorities should not contest freelance journalist Hopewell Chin’ono’s appeal, drop all charges against him, and ensure that he can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, a magistrate court in Harare, the capital, denied Chin’ono bail, citing that the “state fears that he will commit…

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 54 other organizations in a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calling on him to ensure open and unrestricted internet access during and after the country’s presidential election, scheduled for January 14. The letter notes that disruptions to internet access would undermine journalists’ ability to report on the…

New York, January 8, 2020 – Zimbabwean authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and cease efforts to intimidate and harass him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. This afternoon, police arrested Chin’ono at his home in Harare, the capital, and took him to the city’s central police station, according to a…

Nairobi, January 7, 2021 – Ugandan security forces should stop harassing and attacking journalists, and should ensure that the press can freely cover the country’s upcoming elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since December 11, security officers have assaulted at least 10 journalists covering opposition events ahead of the country’s January 14 presidential…

New York, January 7, 2021 –Togolese authorities should permit the L’Indépendant Express newspaper to publish freely, and should ensure that its director, Komlanvi Ketohou, can work without fear of arrest or harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the night of December 29, armed security forces arrested Ketohou at his home in the…

In this unforgettably tumultuous year, journalists across the world covered the ongoing pandemic, dangerous protests, natural disasters, active conflicts, elections, and other life-changing events. The reporters, anchors, photographers, camera operators, producers, and technicians who brought 2020’s biggest stories to the public often risked their own physical safety and psychological well-being and found themselves the subjects…

Nairobi, December 23, 2020 — Ugandan authorities should ensure that members of the press can freely cover the country’s national elections on January 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 10, the Media Council of Uganda, a statutory body, said that local and foreign journalists would be barred from covering electoral events…

New York, December 23, 2020 — Chadian authorities should refrain from conducting police raids on news outlets and should thoroughly investigate allegations that journalist Blaise Noubarassem was assaulted by police and intimidated by a government official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 27, in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, police raided the office of…

On October 17, 2020, Somali security personnel arrested Abdullahi Kulmiye Adow, a reporter with the local privately owned broadcaster Radio Kulmiye, days after he interviewed a businessman who professed support for the militant group Al-Shabaab, according to media reports and Abdullahi, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Abdullahi told CPJ that plain-clothed officers came…