Press freedom increasingly under threat in sub-Saharan, southern Africa
In July 2023, the International Press Institute’s (IPI) global network’s monitoring of press freedom violations in sub-Saharan Africa recorded 80 incidents in 17 countries, which reflects just how much media across Africa are being obstructed by newsroom raids and arrests, attacks on reporters covering elections and legal challenges to their work.
According to the latest ‘IPI Africa Press Freedom Monitoring Report,’ the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recorded the highest number of incidents, followed by Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, which recorded 8 incidents each, and Gabon, with five incidents. The incidents of press freedom violations include physical attacks, arrests, detentions of journalists, and censorship, the IPI report says. Physical, verbal or online attacks on journalists and media workers represent the most frequent type of violations recorded. In most cases, the perpetrators of these violations are state actors, with the police/state security emerging as the top violators of press freedom. A number of incidents included the forced deletion of journalists’ camera and telephone content.
While most incidents take place in countries with poor records for media freedom, analysts are also seeing cases in vibrant democracies like Botswana and South Africa. “Although the number of journalists imprisoned or killed in connection to journalism is not as high as may be the case elsewhere on the continent, there are other press freedom violations in southern Africa that are deeply concerning,” said Angela Quintal, Africa program director at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CP).
In Botswana, intelligence agents in late July reportedly confiscated devices and arrested an editor, Ryder Gabathuse, and reporter Innocent Selatlhwa, at the offices of Mmegi, a leading newspaper. In neighboring South Africa, a number of incidents have raised concern, including lawsuits filed against news outlets and problems concerning media accreditation.
