Africa

Dakar, May 7, 2024 — Nigerien authorities must immediately release Idrissa Soumana Maïga, editor of the privately owned newspaper L’Enquêteur, and allow him to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. An investigative judge at the court in Niamey, the capital, charged Maïga with “undermining national defense” and ordered his transfer to Niamey…

Lusaka, May 6, 2024 — The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday expressed alarm that South Africa’s spy agency wants to subject Moshoeshoe Monare, the editor-in-chief of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), to additional security vetting and an invasive lie-detector test ahead of the country’s crucial May 29 general election. A senior official at…

Abuja, May 6, 2024—Authorities in Ghana should swiftly and comprehensively conclude their investigation of the April 25 firebomb attack on Class Media Group’s office, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that journalists at the media outlet can work safely, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday. On April 25, four unidentified men on…

Nairobi, May 3, 2024— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities not to contest the appeal of journalist Muhiyadin Mohamed Abdullahi’s conviction on hate speech and false news charges. On Thursday, May 2, Muhiyadin—who has been detained since his February 13 arrest—was sentenced to two years in prison by the Fafen Zone High Court in Jigjiga,…

Dakar, 26 April 2024– The Burkinabe authorities should immediately lift the suspension of BBC Africa and Voice of America, and reverse the directive seeking to control local outlets’ coverage, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday. On Thursday, the Superior Council of Communication (CSC), Burkina Faso’s media regulator, suspended the British government-funded BBC Afrique…

Kinshasa, April 22, 2024— Ahead of a court decision expected on Saturday in the prosecution of radio journalist Blaise Mabala, the Committee to Protect Journalist is alarmed that prosecutors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have asked that he be sentenced to 15 months in prison and urges authorities to stop criminalizing the work…

Lusaka, April 22, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called on Zambian authorities to thoroughly investigate a police assault on journalist Rodgers Mwiimba and his two-hour detention, alongside a second journalist, Innocent Phiri. On April 13, police officers arrested the two television journalists at Matanda Grounds, a public space in the town of Kafue,…

Kampala Uganda, April 19, 2024—Somali authorities should drop all criminal investigations against the Somali Journalists Syndicate and desist from weaponizing the judicial system to obstruct the work of the media rights organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday. Two commercial banks, Premier Bank and Dahabshil Bank International told the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS)…

Dakar, April 17, 2024—Togolese authorities must identify and hold accountable the law enforcement agents responsible for arresting and assaulting French journalist Thomas Dietrich and ensure both foreign and local journalists are able to freely report on political news, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, a court in Togo’s capital Lomé sentenced…

Lusaka, April 17, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday called on Malawian authorities to credibly investigate the assault on TV reporter Yasin Limu by Mighty Mukuru Wanderers Football Club supporters and urged the sport’s governing bodies to take concrete steps to deter future attacks against journalists. On April 7, three supporters of the club,…