Amnesty International, the global human rights defender, has noted gross abuse of media rights in East and Southern Africa using draconian laws to frustrate media from performing its role as public watchdogs.
Purveyors face a myriad of arrests, intimidation, harassment and detention of journalists in countries throughout the region. Some media personnel are being targeted and brutally cracked down for reporting on corruption allegations and human rights violations, a concern which compels it to warn authorities in affected countries not to hide under the law for transgressions.
The human rights watchdog, in a statement cites documented widespread violations on media personnel for their exposes on bad governance, which is undermining the fourth estate from doing its role as ‘society watchdogs’ as evidenced in various countries across the two regions of the continent and should not be perpetuated.
Across East and Southern Africa, authorities, it argues, used national security laws including counter terrorism and cyber security legislation to undermine the right to freedom of expression, punish journalists and suppress media freedom.
“Threats to the right to freedom of expression and the media continued unabated across the East and Southern Africa region over the past year. Speaking out against or scrutinising government policies, actions or inaction, or publicly sharing information deemed damaging to the government carried the risk of arrest, arbitrary detention, or death,”
Tigere Chagutah, the Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa (ESARO) is cited as saying in his report issued on the World Press Freedom Day cites Madagascar where the Cyber criminality Code and the Communication Code have forced journalists to self-censor due to fear of reprisals.
Broad and vaguely defined provisions within the laws such as “attacks on state security”, “defamation”, “dissemination of fake news” and “incitement to hatred” have been used to intimidate, harass and target journalists.
In February, the Zimbabwean authorities banned two journalists from covering government functions in Midlands province. Midlands Minister of State and Devolution Affairs singled out Sydney Mubaiwa (Mirror Midlands bureau chief) and NewsDay’s Stephen Chadenga who were at a meeting organized by the Gender Commission and ordered them not to attend future government engagements.
In May, Zimbabwe enacted the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Act (Patriot Act) which threatens media freedom claiming ‘it criminalises wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe.’
Journalists who attend a meeting where there is “reason to believe” that its aim is “to consider or plan armed intervention” face charges even when they only attend for the purpose of reporting.
In South Sudan where civil war has escalated in recent months, intimidation, harassment and censorship of journalists including cases where security officers removed newspaper articles have been documented.
The authorities claim such acts are ‘critical of the transitional government’ Journalists are blocked journalists from covering some political parties, confiscated accreditation documents as well as equipment of journalists, and suspended the operations of some media houses.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities continued their relentless attacks on the right to freedom of expression and press freedom, against the backdrop of the general elections held in December 2023, inter-community violence in certain regions and the armed escalation in the eastern provinces.
Over the past year, the authorities arbitrarily closed down a dozen media outlets and programmes, on charges ranging from “spreading false rumors” to “inciting revolt against the established authorities” and “defamation”. Several journalists are being persecuted for their works.
In Burundi, journalist Floriane Irangabiye, it says, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for critical comments she made about the Burundian government during an online radio show.
In January 2023 the High Court of Mukaza found her guilty of “endangering the integrity of the national territory”. She had appealed twice unsuccessfully, and the Supreme Court upheld her conviction on 13 February 2024.
In Zambia, police officers had arrested Rodgers Mwimba and Innocent Phiri in the town of Kafue, south of the capital, Lusaka, while filming an altercation between police officers and two opposition party leaders. They were detained on April 13, at Kafue police station, forced to delete their footage and released two hours later.
In Malawi, Macmillan Mhone was arrested and charged with ‘publication of news likely to cause fear and alarm’ over a story that he wrote in August 2023 on the fraudulent activities of a businessman who had been charged with conspiracy to defraud the Malawi government.
Amid persistent armed conflicts since 2020, Ethiopian authorities used state of emergency laws to arbitrarily arrest journalists. Since August 2023 at least nine journalists have been detained, with five remaining in custody. Among them, three face terrorism allegations, which could lead to the death penalty if they are convicted.
In Somalia, journalists were subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation, beatings, arbitrary arrests and prosecution.
In February 2023, a court in Mogadishu sentenced Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, a journalist and secretary general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), to two months’ imprisonment for “disobeying government orders” after SJS held a press conference to protest directives issued by the information ministry on coverage of an offensive against al shabab armed group.
In Mozambique, the situation is not any better. Journalists routinely face intimidation, harassment, death threats, violence and even killings, It cites newspaper editor Joao Fernando Chamusse, editor of the newspaper Ponto por Ponto and a commentator on TV Sucesso was killed at his house in Maputo in December 2023.
The publication’s CEO Gabriel Júnior also received death threats recently. In Lesotho, investigative journalist Ralikonelo Joki, known as Leqhashasha, was ambushed and fatally shot outside Tšenolo FM studio in Maseru in May 2023. Prior to his killing, believed to be linked to his work as a journalist, he had received death threats on three occasions.
Chagutah reiterates Amnesty’s calls for unconditional release of all journalists detained unlawfully in the two regions and that their rights be respected to allow the media to ‘do its job’.
It demands an end to the blatant the misuse of the justice system to silence journalists and critics, and clampdown on the freedom of the media,”
