Three South African nationals employed by Sky News - Bernet Hasani Sono, Resemate Chauke and Simon Musimani - who were serving a six-month jail term in Zimbabwe have since been released after a High Court judge reviewed the sentence and commuted it to a fine. The three were convicted on their own plea to contravening Section 33 (1) of the Postal and Telecommunications Chapter 12:03 by illegally...
Cameroonian authorities have lifted a ban on three private broadcasters summarily closed in connection with their critical coverage in February, but police are withholding equipment seized from one station, according to local journalists and news reports. Equinoxe Télévision, sister radio station Radio Equinoxe, and Magic FM were authorized to return to air on July 4 by Communications Minister...
The pending Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation, passed by the Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representatives on July 1, does not fully incorporate public input, including that of local journalists and legal experts. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the bill is flawed and has urged Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis to reject it and send it back to...
The Niger communication ministry has decided to close down Niamey's House of the Press, a centre used by journalists for various activities, including training seminars organised by the French and US embassies. Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) voiced its support for the journalist organisations and House of the Press members who issued a joint statement on July 2 saying they were...
The government of Botswana has gazetted a media practitioners' bill which is expected to regulate the media by, among other things, setting up a statutory press council. The bill, passed on June 27, also seeks to register media practitioners residing in Botswana and provides for hefty penalties for any violation of the law, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). As an example...
The Kanifing Court trying Dida Halake, former Managing Director of the Observer Company Limited, publishers of the pro-government Daily Observer newspaper, on June 25 granted him bail after almost two weeks in detention. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that he was granted bail in the sum of 25,000 Gambian Dalasi (approx. US$11,901) and one surety to reappear on July 9...
Ten to 15 men armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the offices of the Ugandan tabloid daily Red Pepper on Saturday, setting fire to a generator and the printing press, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. The men, riding in a convoy of five vehicles, carried out a well-orchestrated raid that lasted no more than 15 minutes, Red Pepper Managing Editor Arinaitwe Rugyendo told CPJ on Tuesday. Four...
Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has condemned the arrest of seven Zimbabwean and foreign journalists on June 27 during the run-off presidential election that was a foregone conclusion. "In its negotiations with Robert Mugabe, the African Union should remind the outgoing head of state that journalism is not a crime," Paris-based RSF said. British freelance photographer Richard Judson and Zimbabwean...
Despite the arrest of a suspect in the murder of New Zealand photojournalist Trent Keegan, questions about the killing remain unanswered, New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Thursday. Kenyan police are holding a suspect in Keegan's murder, a Kenyan police spokesman told CPJ. The police have not released details, but spokesman Eric Kiraithe told CPJ that police have not found...
Angolan journalist Felisberto da Grâça Campos was sentenced Monday by an Angolan court to six months in prison for allegedly defaming former justice minister Paulo Tjipilika. The journalist was sentenced on charges of defamation, libel, and abuse of the press, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). Grâça Campos is the director of the weekly Semanario Angolese. The state argues...
