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Month of Repression: Four Killed, Dozens Arrested and Radio Stations Shut

Vivian
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Month of Repression: Four Killed, Dozens Arrested and Radio Stations Shut

Four fatalities have already been recorded in an alarming start to 2020, as Guinea and Nigeria began the year on the same repressive note as they ended 2019, while Gambia recorded violations that revive chilling memories of the Yahya Jammeh era crackdown on dissent.

Guinea

Two people were killed on January 13, one in Guinea’ capital, Conakry, and the other in the northern town of Labé, as the security forces and anti-government protesters continued their bloody confrontations.

Mamadou Sow, a 21-year-old high school student, was shot dead by security forces in Coza, in the Ratoma district of Conakry during the nation-wide demonstrations. The second victim, Amadou Diallo, also died from gunshot wounds after the security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators who were attacking a Court building in Labé.

Before the fatal crackdown, the police, on January 8, arrested Alpha Oumar Diallo, administrator of the online newspaper “Verite224.” Plain-clothed officers lured the journalists to a meeting and ended up forcing him into their car and driving him to their office in Conakry. Diallo was interrogated about an article he wrote about an influential politician, before being detained for two days.

Nigeria

The year also began on a gruesome note in Nigeria where two journalists were killed, one by security forces and the other by unknown abductors. Maxwell Nashan, a journalist with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Adamawa State was, on January 15, found tied and muzzled in a bush with his body hacked at several places. Nashan had been abducted from his house the previous day.

In the second incident, security forces who were battling Shiite Muslim protesters in Abuja on January 28, shot and killed Alex Ogbu, a journalist with the Regent Africa Times newspaper. Ogbu was passing by when he was hit by a bullet. Two other persons sustained gunshot wounds during the chaotic protests.

In what is turning out to be a disturbing trend at the polls, two journalists who were covering the rerun Senate elections in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, were assaulted and prevented from carrying out their work on January 25.

In the first instance, a mob claiming to be supporters of Godswill Akpabio, a Minister and candidate in the elections held on January 25, 2020, assaulted Godwin Sunday, a television cameraman with the Global Pilot and destroyed his camera.

In a separate incident, a journalist, Edidiong Udobia, was attacked by hooligans at another polling station.  The thugs held Udobia by his shirt and dragged him to their superior, Emmanuel Inyangettor, who ordered that the journalist’s phone be seized. The journalist had his phone returned to him after it had been scanned and found to contain no adverse content.

On January 30, a group of soldiers stormed the Borno State Secretariat of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Maiduguri and arrested Tunji Omirin, a journalist with the Daily Trust newspaper.  The military officers had twice gone to the Daily Trust office earlier that day in search of the journalist before tracing him to the NUJ secretariat. The soldiers handcuffed Omirin and took him away around 4:30 pm. (17:30 GMT)

The journalist was detained and interrogated for about three hours over a story he had written on the Boko Haram insurgency before being released with caution.

The Gambia

The Gambia revived chilling memories of the Yahya Jammeh dictatorship with the most brutal crackdown on dissent since the new government took office. The police on January 26 brutalised and arrested 137 anti-government demonstrators, arrested four journalists, assaulted another before closing down two media houses.

About a dozen police officers stormed the premises of Home Digital FM and ordered the managers to stop broadcasting. Accusing the radio station of inciting the demonstrators to violence, the security forces also arrested the proprietor and owner of the station, Pa Modou Bojang and another staff.

Another group of police officers invaded King FM and ordered all staff to evacuate the premises, before shutting down the station. The security officers also arrested two of the station’s manager’s Gibbi Jallow and Ebrima Jallow.

The authorities also revoked the accreditation of Al Jazeera reporter, Nicolas Hague, after accusing him of being biased towards the demonstrators who were demanding the resignation of President Adama Barrow in line with his campaign promise to limit his mandate to three years, as against the constitutionally guaranteed five years.

Liberia

In Liberia, the police used excessive force to disperse a crowd of over 3,000 people who gathered outside Monrovia’s Capitol Building on January 6, to protest what they term as deteriorating living conditions under President George Weah.

Dozens of people were taken to the hospital, after inhaling tear gas, or being injured in the melee as the protesters ran in different directions to escape the police violence. At least three people were also arrested by the police.

Still in Liberia, a presenter with the privately-owned Okay FM based in the Capital Monrovia reported having been assaulted by the Executive Protective Service (EPS), President George Weah’s elite security forces. The incident occurred during a a football match on January 26, 2020.

The attack on Miller came just two days after another journalist, Christopher Walker of the FrontPageAfrica online newspaper, was assaulted, also by security personnel, while he was also covering a football match on January 24, 2019. The journalist sustained injuries while his camera and laptop were damaged.

Mauritania

In Mauritania, the authorities arrested a blogger, Mohamed Ali Ould Abdel Aziz and journalists Abdou Ould Tajeddine and Cheikh Ould Mami on accusation of defaming the President.  Abdel Aziz was arrested on January 22, Tajeddine and Ould Mami on 26 in connection with their production and publication on social media of a video criticising President Mohamed Cheikh El Ghazouani and his government. The three were released on January 27. A government statement did not indicate the conditions of their release or the status of their cases.

In other developments, January 16 marked the first anniversary of the killing of investigative journalist, Ahmed Hussein Suale, and the MFWA, as part of activities to observe the day, wrote a letter to the Inspector General of the Ghana Police Service, John Oppong-Boanu, asking for updates on investigations into the incident.

The MFWA urged the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the investigations into Suale’s murder are carried out swiftly, expeditiously and to its logical conclusion, in line with the State’s obligation under the 1992 constitution to protect press freedom.

Two Journalists Attacked During Polls as Election Coverage Turns Dangerous for Nigeria’s Media

Vivian
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Two Journalists Attacked During Polls as Election Coverage Turns Dangerous for Nigeria’s Media

In what is turning out to be a disturbing trend at the polls, two journalists who were covering the rerun Senate elections in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria were assaulted and prevented from carrying out their work.

In the first incident, a mob claiming to be supporters of Godswill Akpabio, a Minister and candidate in the elections held on January 25, 2020, assaulted and destroyed the camera of Godwin Sunday, a television cameraman with the Global Pilot. The incident occurred at the Unit 9 polling station.

Sunday said his assailants told him he was not supposed to be seen there because “the unit belongs to the Minister.” Sunday sustained cuts near his eyes as a result of the attack.

In a separate incident, a journalist, Edidiong Udobia, was attacked by hooligans  at the Unit 6  polling station.  The thugs held Udobia by his shirt and dragged him to one of Godswill Akpabio’s aides, Emmanuel Inyangettor, under whose instruction they appeared to be acting. Inyangettor, suspecting that his activities may have been filmed, ordered his men to seize the journalist’s phone.

The journalist insisted that he handed over the phone to a police officer who scanned through it and confirmed that there was no video of Inyangettor on it. The phone was therefore returned to Udobia, but the frightened and ruffled journalist immediately fled the polling station to avoid further trouble.

Dominic Akpan, the secretary of NUJ in Akwa Ibom, corroborated Udobia’s claims in an interview with The Premium Times newspaper.

The spokesperson of the Minister has, however, disassociated the Minister from the violence, indicating that opponents of the Minister were using his name to perpetrate violence in order to discredit him.

These attacks bring the number of journalists reported to have been assaulted while covering elections in Nigeria to nine since November 2019.

Four journalists were physically attacked and three were threatened in the course of their coverage of the state governors elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States, as well as the Senatorial rerun in Kogi West, which was held simultaneously on November 16, 2019.

Tobi Kusimo and David Bello from Splash FM were attacked when they tried to interview a polling officer at Aiyetoro Gbede, a town in Kogi state.

The same fate befell Sam Egwu, a journalist with the privately-owned The Nation newspaper and Sunday Amachi, a reporter with the government-owned Kogi State Radio at a polling station at Anyigba, also in Kogi State.

Apart from these incidents of physical assaults, three journalists who were covering the elections at various places were threatened. Chinedu Asadu of The Cable online newspaper was forced to flee a polling station after he was threatened by police officers.

Adejumor Kabir, a reporter with The Premium Times newspaper, was threatened by four unidentified individuals wielding canes and bottles. The thugs forced the journalist to abandon his mission of going to report on the collation of the election results at the head office of Independent National Electoral Commission in Bayelsa State.

Another journalist, Lolafunke Ogunbolu, who works with the privately-owned Africa Independent Television broadcaster, reported that a group of armed men threatened to beat her after they saw her filming their assault on a woman at a polling station in Aiyetoro Gbede in Kogi State.

All the above incidents happened during the State Governors election in Kogi State and the Senatorial rerun in Bayelsa State on November 16, 2019.

The MFWA condemns these brazen attacks on journalists covering elections in Nigeria and calls for prompt investigations into the incidents. Elections are an essential component of democracy and must be conducted in a free and transparent manner with media coverage as the best guarantee of this transparency. The wanton attacks on journalists by rampaging thugs are, therefore, a direct attack on democracy, and must not continue. The authorities in Nigeria must treat this phenomenon with the urgency that it deserves by investigating the violations thoroughly and punishing the culprits.

World Radio Day 2020 – Statement by Institute for Media and Society

Vivian
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World Radio Day 2020 – Statement by Institute for Media and Society

The Institute for Media and Society (IMS) joins people across the world to celebrate World Radio Day 2020.

We salute the choice and focus on the theme of Radio and Diversity, because of its immediate relevance in our country.

Since its introduction in our country 90 years ago, radio broadcasting has played important roles in national development. Sustained as a single service structure under federal government auspices up to the eve of national political independence, it has expanded into hundreds of outlets in all parts of the country.

As citizens operate, produce and enjoy broadcasting services nationwide, it is important to remember the challenges that limit the fulfillment of the medium’s potentials and provide solutions to them.

The acquisition of operating licenses remains difficult mainly due to the long, tortuous journey of applications from the regulatory agency to the presidency for approval. Years after the introduction of community broadcasting to expand the landscape, approval of licenses to the sub-sector remains scanty.  

As the entire radio broadcasting industry continues to grow in size and content, there is a widespread indication that sections of the population are marginalised in coverage.

Going forward, stakeholder institutions must take steps to address these gaps.

  1. The federal government to reform the licensing system by granting full powers to the regulator, National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, so that it can process application and grant licences without reference to other government institutions.
  2. The regulator, NBC, to prioritise attention to the speedy development of community broadcasting by approving licences for the large number of desiring communities across the country.
  • Radio broadcasters to provide quality attention to the issues of under-served sections of the population such as women, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and internally displaced persons (IDPs)

 

Dated 13th February 2020

Dr Akin Akingbulu

Executive Director: Institute for Media and Society (IMS)

[email protected]

@imesoimeso

+234 9032943342

 

Zimbabwe’s Broadcasting Service’s Act Requires Extensive Amendment

Vivian
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Zimbabwe’s Broadcasting Service’s Act Requires Extensive Amendment

MISA Zimbabwe on the occasion of the commemorations of World Radio Day on 13 February 2020 urges the government of Zimbabwe to urgently prioritise the transformation of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).

This of paramount importance when viewed against the recently gazetted statutory instruments 26 and 27 and the proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act through the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill which is still to be gazetted.

Statutory Instrument (SI) 26 of 2020 regulates Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Services while SI 27 of 2020 regulates issues relating to Licensing and Content.

In that regard, SI 26 seeks to define and provide preliminary guidelines required for the roll-out of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Services in Zimbabwe. The Regulations contained in this Statutory Instrument apply to terrestrial television broadcasting licensees, signal carrier licensees and suppliers of television receivers.

Digital migration thus refers to the switching of broadcasting from an analogue system to a digital system of broadcasting.

The International Telecommunications Union called for this switch because digital broadcasting allows for the broadcasting of higher definition media when compared to analogue broadcasting. This is a much more efficient utilisation of the broadcasting spectrum which also allows for a wider broadcasting range.

A popular example of a digital broadcasting service is Multichoice’s DSTV service. Similarly, once the Zimbabwean digital migration process is complete, viewers will have to require set-top boxes or decoders to access television programming.

In that regard, the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) will allocate six high definition channels (technically referred to as a Multiplex) to the public broadcaster, which is ZBC. BAZ will also allocate a second multiplex or six high definition channels to licensed commercial television broadcasters.

However, it is common cause that ZBC has so far failed to generate content for the current single television-broadcasting channel it is utilising, as evidenced by the following key challenges:
• Lack of quality, independent programming that contributes to a plurality of opinions and an informed public.
• Lack of comprehensive news and current affairs programming, which is impartial, accurate and balanced.
• Lack of wide range of broadcast material that strikes a balance between programming of wide appeal and specialised programmes that serve the needs of minority audiences.
• Limited coverage to serve all the people and regions in the country.
• Poor educational programmes and programmes directed towards children.
• Limited support for local programme production, through minimum quotas for original productions and material produced by independent producers.

To, therefore, allocate an additional six channels to ZBC given its current state of affairs, and without implementing its long-overdue transformation, would only serve to perpetuate ZBC’s failure to fulfil its public service mandate.

MISA Zimbabwe, therefore, urges government to institute and implement a practical ZBC turnaround strategy that will see the public broadcaster produce and broadcast modern, quality and relevant public interest programming.

Meanwhile, the government should revisit the current licensing regime as characterised by the prohibitive fees which pose as barriers to local commercial and private players that have an intention to take part in the media and broadcasting sector.

These fees should be reviewed in line with Section 61 (3) of the Constitution which states:

Broadcasting and other electronic media of communication have freedom of establishment subject only to State licensing procedures that-
(a) are necessary to regulate the airwaves and other forms of signal distribution; and
(b) are independent of control by government or by political or commercial interests.

The licensing fees as gazetted, technically take away the right and freedom of establishment as they are beyond the reach of many, especially in the areas of content creation and aggregation as well as community radio broadcasting.

In undertaking these measures, the government should, therefore, be guided by its pledges and commitment to implement democratic media law and policy reforms.

MISA Zimbabwe, therefore, urges the government to move with speed to review and extensively amend the Broadcasting Service Act and ensure compliance with the Constitution and other regional and international instruments such as the African Charter on Broadcasting.

Zimbabwe Police Harass Journalist

Vivian
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Zimbabwe Police Harass Journalist

Freelance journalist Nyasha Majoni was on 27 January 2020 reportedly manhandled by police in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe who accused him of sending pictures and video clips of police arresting illegal money changers.

The police demanded to see the pictures and video clips before returning the phone and threatening the journalist with unspecified action.

MISA Zimbabwe position

MISA Zimbabwe is greatly concerned with the number of cases involving the police in the harassment and assault of journalists conducting their lawful and constitutionally protected duties of reporting on events as they unfold without any hindrance.

These media freedom violations which should be addressed as a matter of urgency, do not only dent the image of the police but of Zimbabwe as a country that does not respect its own Constitution particularly when these are perpetrated by members of the police who are supposed to be exemplary in their conduct and respect for the law.

End

SOS journalists hotline

If you are injured, detained or arrested ín the line of duty, call our 24/7 SOS journalist hotline on 0784 437 338 to access legal and/or medical assistance. 

Don’t forget to have the number saved in your phone for emergencies!

Find out more about the hotline here.

MRA Calls on Government to Introduce and Implement Policies and Legislation that Ensure Safety of Journalists

Felicia Anthonio
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MRA Calls on Government to Introduce and Implement Policies and Legislation that Ensure Safety of Journalists

LAGOS, Monday, December 23, 2019: Media Rights Agenda (MRA) today called on the Nigerian Government to adopt and implement policies and laws instituting preventive measures aimed at eliminating or reducing attacks against journalists and ensuring routine but diligent prosecution of perpetrators of attacks against journalists.

According to the organization, by so doing, the Government would be able to ensure that perpetrators of attacks against journalists do not go free while also discouraging future attacks as impunity for such attacks in the past had aggravated the situation.

The call is contained in a report released today by MRA titled “A Profession Endangered – An Analytical Report on the Safety of Journalists in Nigeria“ in which it highlighted a variety of attacks faced by Nigerian journalists in the course of carrying out their professional duties, including assault and battery, arrests and detention, shutdown of media outlets, raids on media organizations and facilities, confiscation or destruction of work equipment, and abductions, among others.

The project which led to the report is aimed at finding solutions that ensure the safety of journalists at all times, particularly in the face of shrinking civic space in Nigeria manifested in sustained attacks on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom and in the light of the failure of successive governments, law enforcement and security agencies to take meaningful steps to address the problem which has significantly affected the ability of the media to provide the public with accurate and reliable information.

The report documents cases of attacks on journalists and the media in Nigeria between January 2017 to May 2019. MRA said: “in all cases of attacks against journalists in Nigeria, there is no evidence of any diligent effort made by security and law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute perpetrators; the perpetrators invariably commit these crimes with impunity as they go scot-free without any repercussion for their actions.”

Mr. Ayode Longe, MRA’s programme director, said: “It has become imperative that we call attention to this ugly trend of attacks against the media because of the negative effect especially when government is doing nothing to address the issue. We have consistently made the point that when attacks on the media go unpunished, perpetrators are emboldened and journalists are silenced in many ways. Invariably, the public is denied vital information that they would ordinarily be able to obtain through the media and which might be critically important for decision-making on many different levels.”

In the report, MRA made several recommendations to tackle the incidence of attacks on journalists targeting various stakeholders in the country including the Federal government; media owners and journalists unions/associations; media regulatory bodies; civil society organisations; security, law enforcement and intelligence agencies; and the general public.

The organization recommended that security, law-enforcement and intelligence agencies should train their personnel and agents on applicable human rights norms and standards as well as the vital role that the media play in society in ensuring good governance, among other things; carry out training and sensitization programmes for their personnel and agents on the rules of civic engagement; as well as investigate and prosecute cases of attacks against journalists and the media both to punish perpetrators and to send a message to would-be perpetrators that no attack against journalists and the media will go unpunished.

It called on media freedom and freedom of expression organisations to, among other things, sensitise journalists about their safety and train them on how to keep safe in all situations, including how to determine situations that may likely degenerate into violence and how to ensure their safety under such circumstances.

MRA also recommended regular advocacy activities to relevant stakeholders, including the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, civil society, law-enforcement, security and intelligence agencies; other government officials and civil servants, and members of the public to familiarize them on the role of the media in society and the need for them to work together to ensure the safety of journalists.

The report was produced with the support of the Africa Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), a continental network of the most prominent African freedom of expression and media rights organisations that are also members of IFEX- global free expression network.

Kindly click here to access the full report. 

For further information, please contact:

Idowu Adewale

Communications Officer

Media Rights Agenda, Lagos

E-mail: [email protected]

Four Demonstrators Killed, Serial Attacks on Journalists in November 2019

Felicia Anthonio
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Four Demonstrators Killed, Serial Attacks on Journalists in November 2019

This statement was originally published on mfwa.org on December 12, 2019.

Guinea’s unrelenting attacks against demonstrators in November 2019 resulted in four fatalities, while Nigeria continued on its downward spiral with a series of freedom of expression (FOE) violations against a dozen journalists and several protesters in one of the most repressive months for FOE this year.

Killings

On November 4, Guinea’s security forces renewed its knotty relations with demonstrators by fatally shooting two people as they opened fire on a cortege accompanying the coffins of 11 people who had been killed from police brutalities during demonstrations on October 14-16, 2019.

Some youths among the mourners are said to have erected barricades and begun burning tyres to express their anger. The police threw tear gas to disperse them and the youth responded with stones, followed by water cannons and gunshots from the police, leading to a breakdown of order. In the end, two of the mourners died.

Two days after the attack, security forces in Guinea killed two more protesters in Conakry. Mamadou Bela Baldé had just emerged from his house to join the crowd in the company of three others when he was hit in the head by a bullet fired by the military. One of his colleagues, Mamadou Alimou Diallo, was also fatally hit in the chest in the Conakry suburb of Wanidara on November 6.

While Guinea made the headlines for the fatalities it recorded among demonstrators, Nigeria also plunged into the abyss with a series of assaults, threats and detention of journalists and protesters.

Physical Attacks

Twelve journalists were physically attacked, threatened or detained in separate incidents in Nigeria. The first incident happened on November 7 when security officers attached to Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, assaulted Abayomi Adeshida, a photojournalist with the private newspaper, Vanguard. The officers from the Department of State Security (DSS) attacked the journalist for taking pictures of the Vice President during an exhibition at the State House Banquet Hall. Adeshida sustained injuries and his camera was damaged.

On November 9, some thugs suspected to be henchmen of the Government of Edo State    brutalised anti-government protesters and a journalist covering the attacks. The thugs who were clad in t-shirts with the inscription “Vigilante Edo Government House,” attacked Jomoh Ogirima of Rave Television and destroyed his camera.

On November 12, armed operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) attacked two journalists who were reporting on a crackdown on protesters demanding the release of detained journalist and political activist, Omoyele Sowore.

The DSS operatives attacked Stanley Ugochukwu, a reporter of Arise TV, and seized his camera. They also subjected Oludare Richards of The Guardian newspaper to severe beating. Richards emerged from the assault with a head wound and several bruises on his arm.

The security officers assaulted Yemi Adamolekun, an activist who runs the pressure group Enough Is Enough Nigeria, after they saw her filming the crackdown. The officers also seized and destroyed her mobile phone.

The DSS operatives had descended on the protesters with rods, tear gas and live ammunition, and were determined to prevent the media from reporting on the crackdown.

A number of violations against the media were also recorded during the State Governors’ elections held on November 16 in Kogi and Bayelsa States. Some thugs attacked four journalists, threatened and prevented others from reporting on the elections.

A group of thugs threw stones at Tobi Kusimo and David Bello from Splash FM radio station when the journalists tried to interview a polling officer at Aiyetoro Gbede, a town in Kogi State.

At Anyigba, also in Kogi State, another mob surrounded the vehicle of Sam Egwu, a journalist with the privately-owned The Nation newspaper and Sunday Amachi, a reporter with the government-owned Kogi State Radio, as the two arrived at a polling station. The mob, whose motive was not immediately known, pelted the car with stones, forcing the journalists to retreat.

At another polling station in Dekina, Bayelsa State, some journalists of African Independent Television covering the elections were attacked by thugs.

Threats

Several journalists covering the November 16 elections in Nigeria also received threats. In one instance, police officers threatened and forced Chinedu Asadu, a reporter of The Cable online newspaper, to flee a polling station. The police accosted Asadu while he was filming a politician giving money to a group of women voters. They seized the journalist’s phone and accused him of attempting to discredit the elections. Asadu fled when his phone was returned to him amidst curses and threats from the police.

In another incident, four unidentified individuals wielding canes and bottles intercepted Adejumor Kabir, a reporter with the Premium Times newspaper and ordered him to turn back. Kabir, who was heading to the head office of Independent National Electoral Commission in Bayelsa State to cover the collation of the election results, was forced to abandon the trip under threat of violence from the mob.

Another journalist, Lolafunke Ogunbolu, who works with Africa Independent Television, reported that a group of armed men threatened to beat her after they saw her filming their assault on a woman at a polling station in Aiyetoro Gbede in Kogi State.

In Opolo, also in Bayelsa State, youths suspected to be loyal to one of the two major political parties, charged at some journalists and observers, forcing them to flee. The armed youths also brandished weapons openly, scaring voters away.

In the Gambia, two youth groups affiliated to Gambian President Adama Barrow assaulted three journalists who were covering the President’s “Meet the People Tour” on November 21. The members of the Barrow Youth Movement and Barrow Fans Club assaulted Ebrahim Jambang of The Gambia Talent Promotion Media, Sally Jobe of Kerr Fatou, and Landing Ceesay of Paradise FM, for filming their angry complaints and destroyed the cameras of Jambang and Cessay.

In the only case of arbitrary detention, the police in Lagos detained Dipo Awojobi, editor of First Weekly Magazine on November 8, after a ruling party politician lodged a defamation complaint against the journalist. Awojobi was said to have been moved to Abuja after he spent the night of November 8 in police cells at Area ‘F’ Command Headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos.

Other Developments

Guinea made some amends with two important court decisions that constituted a boost for press freedom and freedom of expression.

In the first instance, the Supreme Court on November 28 ordered the media regulator, Haute autorite de la communication (HAC), to restore the licenses of two radio stations that had been closed down for installing their transmitters at an authorised location.

On the same day (November 28), the Court of Appeal in Conakry provisionally released members of the political pressure group, Front National pour la Defense de la Constitution (FNDC) who were serving various prison terms for organising recent anti-government demonstrations. The FNDC leaders, including a former minister of state, were convicted in October in connection with a demonstration they had called to be staged in Conakry on October 14.

Building Digital Literacy and Security Capacity of Women Refugees in Uganda

Felicia Anthonio
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Building Digital Literacy and Security Capacity of Women Refugees in Uganda

This statement was originally published on cipesa.org on December 9, 2019.

By Ashnah Kalemera |

Statistics on the prevalence of cyber harassment of women in Africa remain scanty. Where some reports of cyber harassment of women in the region are available, the extent to which it affects women in marginalised communities is also not well known. Indeed, the growing proliferation of technology is reported to be facilitating online harassment of women by enabling the anonymity of the perpetrators who could be located anywhere and without physical contact with the victim. In many instances, cases of cyber harassment go unreported and victims have limited legal recourse or resources to  seek justice.

Figures show that in Europe, one in 10 women have been victims of cyber harassment, including having received unwanted, offensive sexually explicit emails or SMS messages, or unwarranted inappropriate advances on social networking sites. While contexts differ, it is possible that women in Africa who use digital communications technologies face similar or greater levels of harassment, given the low levels of digital literacy and poor mechanisms to fight online violence against women.

Interviews conducted in August 2019 with 35 women refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, South Sudan and Sudan, who are living in Uganda, showed that three in four of the respondents had experienced some form of cyber harassment including abuse, stalking, unwarranted sexual advances and hacking of social media accounts. The perpetrators included anonymous individuals, security agents in their home countries, known friends and ex-partners. 

The interviews were carried out as part of the digital literacy and security training for refugee rights defenders. Hosted in Kampala, Uganda by Access for All, the two days training engaged 80 participants and also covered aspects of digital activism and women’s participation in the information society. 

“Due to the rampant online harassment of women in Uganda, we believe that such a project would considerably benefit our members, for whom digital literacy and creative approaches to digital activism are vital in their everyday work and long-term development,” said Asan Juma, the Executive Director of Access for All. 

These online affronts against women refugees in Uganda run in parallel to gender-based violence in refugee camps, at border crossings and resettlement communities. According to the United Nations University (UNU), women refugees are often under threat of physical and sexual violence not only at the hands of fellow refugees and human traffickers but also national immigration administration, security forces and humanitarian staff. In these situations, UNU reports that access to justice and reparation for women refugees is limited.

Indeed, only a quarter of the refugee women interviewed who had experienced cyber harassment went on to report the cases to authorities. Among the reasons put forward for not reporting  was “unawareness of the existing laws that prohibit online harassment” and “distrust of the police.” The mistrust of law enforcement authorities stemmed from self consciousness over their nationality or refugee status, previous bad experiences with authorities in home countries and the perception that “police case handling is often in favour of nationals rather than refugees”. 

Those who did not report the cases of cyber harassment to law enforcement officials coped through support from friends or counselling. A few others stated that they “ignored” the incidents. In one instance where the harassment was perpetrated by a friend, the respondent indicated that rather than reporting the incident to the police, they “talked to the person and settled the matter.”

Other measures taken included blocking the perpetrators on social media platforms or reporting them to platform administrators for violation of user policies. One respondent confirmed that the account of the perpetrator was taken down by platform administrators following an abuse report. 

Beyond online harassment, other digital threats that the participants reported to have experienced included fraud, identity theft online, loss of devices, viruses and malware on their devices. Whereas the engagement provided digital safety skills and knowledge, physical security threats also remain a challenge. Beneficiaries called for more coordinated digital rights advocacy efforts focused on the needs and challenges of refugee communities, targeting both the refugees as beneficiaries but also key stakeholders in the realisation of these rights.  

Access For All was founded in South Sudan in 2016 with an aim to promote the rights of sexual minorities. In the same year, the organisation was shut down by the government. The founders fled South Sudan and sought asylum in Uganda, where they worked on health rights and dignity of urban refugee sexual minorities. 

As part of its work in Uganda, Access for All recognised that urban refugees faced heightened gender-based violence risks due to unmet multiple and complex social, economic and medical needs as well as intersecting oppressions based on race, ethnicity, nationality, language, sexual orientation and gender identity. Moreover, humanitarian programmes were found to focus less on serving refugees in urban areas and even less so on sexual minority refugees.

With a grant from the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF) that is managed by CIPESA, Access for All was among the inaugural grantees in 2019 and carried out the bi-lingual (English and Arabic) interviews and training workshop, which  explored prevailing digital security/protection concerns among urban refugees in Uganda and mechanisms to address them.

Stakeholders Recommend Strategies to Combat Internet Disruptions and Shutdowns during Elections in Africa

Felicia Anthonio
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Stakeholders Recommend Strategies to Combat Internet Disruptions and Shutdowns during Elections in Africa

This statement was originally published on mfwa.org on November 21, 2019.

The 2019 West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA) hosted by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) offered a platform to discuss the flagrant internet disruptions and shutdowns during presidential elections across the African continent.

Network disruptions and Internet shutdowns have often proven to have dire consequences on the economic, political and developmental fortunes of several African countries. Because of their recurrence in some countries during the election period, it becomes crucial to consider strategies to prevent or counteract them.

A session on the theme “Keeping the Net On: Combating Network Shutdowns during Elections, the Experience so far” was, therefore, held at the 2019 WAMECA to learn from the experiences of countries that had suffered network disruptions and shutdowns while sharing learnings to inform advocacy around the subject. The session was also aimed at equipping countries that are up for elections in 2020 in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Togo) and beyond with strategies for combating the phenomenon.

The session, which was moderated by the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey, empanelled participants from Cameroon, Chad, Ghana and Nigeria to discuss the impact of internet disruptions and blackouts on the continent, particularly, during elections. The panellists highlighted some of the economic, social and other developmental challenges experienced during such blackouts.

Salim Azim Assani, Co-founder and Operations Director at WenakLabs in Chad, for instance, highlighted how the over a yearlong social media blackout in Chad frustrated and affected many people.

“People had to travel kilometres to access social media platforms, but they were shut down everywhere,” he said. “Unfortunately, the circumvention measures taken by the few digital savvies were insufficient.”

He further noted that even though authorities often cite the need for public order as one of the key reasons for blocking access to the internet during protests and elections, disrupting or shutting down the internet may in itself be a factor in fostering public disorder.

“Internet shutdowns definitely do not restore public order. They contribute to public disorder as people get agitated when denied access to information,” he continued.

The panellists from Ghana and Nigeria also highlighted some of the measures put in place to mitigate election-related shutdowns during the 2016 and 2019 national elections, respectively. Specific mentions were made of the use of advocacy especially by civil society organisations, capacity building and stakeholder engagements, as highlighted in a report by the MFWA on Mitigating Internet Shutdowns during Elections.

Emmanuel Vitus, Paradigm Initiative, Nigeria

“In Nigeria, an internet shutdown was prevented before, during and after the 2019 elections through advocacy and capacity building,” Emmanuel Vitus of Paradigm Initiative, Nigeria, noted. “Leading up to and during Nigeria’s 2019 general elections, we collaborated with partners on measuring networks in the country to monitor potential censorship events,” he added. “And while advocating against a shutdown, trainings were also conducted on the use of web applications to ensure access to the internet just in case of a shutdown.”

The session on “Keeping the Net On: Combating Network Shutdowns during Elections, the Experience so far” was organised against the backdrop of the increasing resort to the use of network disruptions to clamp down on freedom of expression online during important national events such as elections, protests and examinations.

Throughout the session, panellists and participants alike unanimously condemned the increasing resort to internet disruptions and blackouts during elections. The following recommendations were made on the way forward:

  • A multi-stakeholder approach, including strategic engagements with relevant state institutions, security agencies, industry players and civil society organisations, should always be deployed ahead of elections.
  • There should be consistent and concerted efforts to sensitise governments to understand the importance of the internet before, during and after elections in promoting informed voter decisions, sharing elections safety measures, channels of reporting elections malpractices, and other election-related information.
  • Governments should also be made to understand that leaving the internet open and ensuring continuous access enhances credibility and trust by the international community.
  • The legislature of the various countries on the continent should legislate against such practices to foster continuous access to the internet, knowledge creation and dissemination, and personal development using the internet.
  • Academia should conduct more research on network disruptions and provide scientific evidence to governments on the negative ramifications of internet disruptions and shutdowns.
  • Civil society organisations and the media should contribute to public education and sensitisation against internet shutdowns through audio/visual documentaries, features, info graphs and reports.
  • Citizens should be empowered with the knowledge that digital rights are an extension of human rights and should, therefore, demand for access at all times, including electioneering periods.
  • There is the need to build the capacities of all stakeholders, especially, civil society, media and the general public with the skillset and tools for circumvention in the event of network disruptions and shutdowns.

African Commission Extends Mandate of Special Rapporteur on Free Expression, 14 Other Special Mechanism by 6 Months

Felicia Anthonio
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African Commission Extends Mandate of Special Rapporteur on Free Expression, 14 Other Special Mechanism by 6 Months

This statement was originally published on mediarightsagenda.net on November 25, 2019.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) has renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, Commissioner Lawrence Mute, and the mandates of 14 other Special Mechanism of the Commission for another six months, following the expiration of their two-year tenure.

Meeting at its 65th Ordinary Session, which began in Banjul, The Gambia, on October 21, 2019 and ended on November 10, 2019, the Commission adopted Resolution 425, “Resolution on the Renewal of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ Special Mechanisms’ Mandates – ACHPR/Res.425(LXV) 2019 by which it extended the mandates of the 15 special mechanisms for a 6-month period

In the resolution, the Commission recalled its earlier resolutions on the renewal of the Mandate of the various Special Mechanisms of the Commission adopted at its 61st Ordinary Session held from November 1 to 15, 2017, including the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa; the Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa; the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa; the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa; and the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa.

Other special mechanisms, which also benefited from the extension are the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and those at Risk, Vulnerable to and Affected by HIV; the Working Group on Death Penalty, Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings in Africa; the Working Group on Communications; the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations in Africa; the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa; the Advisory Committee on Budgetary and Staff Matters; the Working Group on Specific Issues related to the Work of the Commission; the Committee on Resolutions; the Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Africa; and the Working Group on the Rights of Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities in Africa

The Commission noted that the mandates of these Special Mechanisms were for two years and that they have come to an end and that the election of new members of the Commission did not take place at the African Union Summit held from July 4 to 8, 2019 and had been postponed to the Summit to be held from February 6 to 10, 2020.

Reiterating the importance of the Special Mechanisms and the need for them to continue to carry out their mandates, the Commission decided to renew the mandate of the Commissioners and the Expert Members of the Commission’s various Special Mechanisms for a six months’ period, with effect from November 10, 2019.

Zimbabwe Must Introduce Laws that Promote Journalists’ Safety

Felicia Anthonio
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Zimbabwe Must Introduce Laws that Promote Journalists’ Safety

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) supports the recent call by its member, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe Chapter urging the Zimbabwe government to adopt laws that promote the safety of journalists working in the country. The call was made following the production of a report which highlights widespread impunity for attacks perpetrated against journalists.

The report revealed that over the past two and a half years (January 2017 – August 2019), Zimbabwean journalists, particularly those from the private media, work under persistent threats of harassment, illegal detention and, in some instances, physical assault. The perpetrators of these violations were mainly State security agents, politicians, political party affiliates and members of the public who are not happy with media reportage or coverage of issues involving them.

Sadly, despite recording an average 30 separate media freedom violations per year over the past two-half years, MISA Zimbabwe is yet to record a successful conviction of a perpertrator of media freedom violations. A majority of the attacks against journalists are left unpunished resulting in an increase of such violations as perpetrators feel emboldened to perpetuate these acts without any fear of reprisal.

This pattern of media freedom violations which was prevalent under the Mugabe-led government has extended into the current government.

AFEX and MISA Zimbabwe appealed to authorities to move forward with efforts to repeal the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) as part of the media reform exercise. The AIPPA has been criticised as containing restrictive and repressive elements aimed at censoring journalists and media houses working in Zimbabwe.

While we commend the efforts made by the government to reform Zimbabwe’s repressive media laws, we will like to appeal to the authorities to ensure that the new laws adopted fulfill freedom of expression, priortise journalists’ safety and addresses impunity for crimes against journalists..

We further appeal to authorities to ensure that the media freedom laws under review must contain measures that strengthen the judiciary’s ability to prosecute press freedom violations to their logical conclusion. This must be prioritised given the fact that media freedom is a fundamental right that is protected by Section 61 of Zimbabwe’s national Constitution.

Protecting journalists’ safety is an important part of ensuring the legitimate exercise and enjoyment of media freedoms in Zimbabwe. Without a guarantee of their safety, journalists will be cowered into avoiding critical and relevant issues that would have contributed Zimbabwe’s democratic discourse.

Click here to read the full report: Freedom of Expression Situation in Zimbabwe – January 2017 to June 2019.

AFEX Calls on Congolese Authorities to Investigate Killing of Journalist and Prosecute Perpetrators

Felicia Anthonio
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AFEX Calls on Congolese Authorities to Investigate Killing of Journalist and Prosecute Perpetrators

Accra, Ghana, 6 November 2019: The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) today condemned the brutal murder of Congolese journalist, Papy Mahamba Mumbere who was killed on November 2, 2019 by unidentified gunmen at his residence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to AFEX member in the DRC, Journaliste en Danger (JED), the assailants who were armed with machetes and knives broke into the house of the journalist shortly after he hosted an Ebola awareness programme on radio, threatened him before stabbing him repeatedly in the chest and belly until he succumbed. His wife was also badly wounded with a machete when she attempted to come to her husband’s rescue. The attackers then dragged the lifeless body of the journalist around the house before setting the entire house on fire.

The Director of Lwenba Community Radio Station where Mumbere worked said the journalist had been engaged in a campaign to raise awareness about the Ebola epidemic that has already killed many people. His interventions in the issue through the media were not well received by part of the local population and armed groups who are increasingly hostile to the operations to contain the epidemic.

There have been reports of attacks on health centres and on people working to stop the spread of the Ebola virus in the country over the past one year. The attacks emanate from a section of the local population who believe that the virus is a hoax.

Expressing the sympathies of members of the AFEX Network to the family and colleagues of the late journalist, AFEX Coordinator, Felicia Anthonio, said: “It is tragically ironic that Papy Mahamba Mumbere was murdered on November 2, a Day set aside by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. His killing must not be swept under the carpet. The cruel manner in which the journalist was murdered is an affront to efforts made by stakeholders across the continent and beyond to ensure the safety of journalists and bring an end to impunity for crimes against journalists.”

She called on the Congolese Government to make serious efforts to protect journalists in the country and ensure that those who seek to harm journalists, whether in or out of Government, should be brought to justice.

“The Government of the DRC must ensure accountability for the killing of the journalists in general and this latest incident cannot be treated as just any other case that has been given no attention. We demand justice for Mumbere,” the AFEX Coordinator said.

AFEX denounced repeated attacks against the media in the country, saying acts of barbarism against the media fraternity in DRC and in other parts of the continent at large were no longer tolerable.

“We urge the police and other relevant law enforcement and security agencies in the DRC to make a public commitment to fully, diligently and transparently investigate the killing of the journalist and to bring the culprits to justice,” the AFEX Coordinator said.

She also called on the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and access to information in Africa, Commissioner Lawrence Mute, and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Prof. David Kaye, to put pressure on the Congolese government to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the attack.

Ms Anthonio appealed to the media organisations and human rights groups across the continent to demand justice for the killing of the journalist, saying his only crime appeared to be the fact that he was diligently carrying out his professional responsibilities as a journalist to enlighten and inform the citizens of his country about a matter of serious public concern and interest.

The killing of Mumbere brings the number of Congolese media professionals in the past two decades to 15.

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