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International Day of Access to Information: Baby finally delivered after 13 years

Mama has been pregnant for 13 years; certainly past the ideal nine months of pregnancy for any woman. When she would deliver – time and date – has been watched with lots of anxiety.

But Bingo! Here comes good news: Mama finally delivers on November 17, 2015. Baby is healthy and sound, and brings lots of joy and hope to family, friends and loved ones. It is named “International Day for the Universal Access to Information” to be celebrated annually on September 28.

That is the story and journey of the global civil society campaign towards the declaration of September 28 as Access to Information Day. The 13-year campaign was finally delivered when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) General Conference voted on November 17, 2015 to designate September 28 as “International Day for the Universal Access to Information”.

The Joy and Cheers 

For global civil society and like-minded organisations across the world this is indeed welcome news and precisely so for the significant benefits such a day brings. The International Day for the Universal Access to Information does not only to seek to raise awareness about the importance of the right of access to information but also provide a framework for the enjoyment of the right of access to information by all people.

As succinctly captured by UNESCO’s Executive Board “the establishment of a specific date provides a coherent message at the international level and facilitates coordination of joint initiatives on public awareness and elucidation by organizations in the coherence of a universally recognized day.”

Furthermore, Access to information is a fundamental human right – to seek, access and receive information. It establishes a legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. It is guaranteed by several protocols and charters such as Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Article 4 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa.

The Bated-Breath Moment

Already, international civil society advocates celebrated September 28 as “Right to Know Day” since 2002 when the idea was developed at a conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. Many more civil society platforms such as the African Platform on Access to Information (APAI), African Freedom of Information Center (AFIC) amongst other regional and national level organisations and coalitions have engaged in several activities and vigorous campaigns to push for the adoption of the international day.

On October 19, 2015, the news that the Executive Board of UNESCO adopted a resolution recommending that September 28 be recognized as International Access to information Day was a good one and huge milestone in itself.  The commitment by African civil society groups and African countries to push the UNESCO resolution was highly instructive. As remarked by Nigeria-based Freedom of Information Campaigner Edetaen Ojo the adoption of the Resolution represents a major advancement in the 13-year quest by global civil society to have a day set aside annually to raise awareness about the importance of access to information throughout the world”. He said “When the Resolution is finally passed by UNESCO’s General Conference, it will be a gift to the world that Africa can be justly proud of.”

So with the baton handed to the 38th Session of UNESCO’s General Conference in Paris on November 3-18, 2015 came the real moment of bated-breath. Will the baby be finally delivered or another long wait lay ahead?

But alas! the International Day for the Universal Access to Information has been adopted. The approval by UNESCO’s General Conference came during its meetings in Paris and follows on support from a UNESCO Committee on November 11 and the UNESCO Executive Board on Oct. 19. 2015.

Certainly, this is a great milestone. But it also signals the beginning of more work ahead. International civil society still bears the onerous task of translating activism into real adoption of ATI legislation by many more countries and also ensuring that there exist implementation mechanisms for such legislation to become meaningful to the ordinary citizens.

Kudos to international civil society and more grease to our elbows for the task ahead!!!

Written by Abigail Larbi
Programme Officer for Media Development and Democracy
Media Foundation for West Africa Accra-Ghana

AFEX: How Members marked the International Day to End Impunity

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On Monday November 2, 2015, member organisations of the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), made up of the nine most prominent free expression rights advocacy organisations on the continent, joined the global press freedom community to mark the UN-designated International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. AFEX secretariat compiled highlights of how its members celebrated the day. Media Rights Agenda (MRA) from the Nigerian capital Lagos, engaged its over 5000 followers on twitter while sharing info graphs and retweeting excepts of statements and press releases of other media advocacy organisations across the globe. From Accra, Ghana’s capital, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) issued a statement calling on countries to protect journalists. To find out more about how the remaining AFEX members marked the day Kindly click here.

AFEX is a network of African freedom of expression organisations, all members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), who seek to address freedom of expression challenges in Africa. Such challenges include laws and policies, traditions, customs, absence of capacity arising from ignorance, poverty and lack of access to technology; and security.

AFEX to prioritise digital rights campaigns

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) has ended its Strategy Meeting and 2nd General Meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Sunday, October 4, 2015, with a resolution to prioritise capacity building in digital security and digital rights campaigns for its members.

As part of the review the 2016-2017 priorities of the AFEX Strategic Plan, the organization also decided to further broaden its membership to include members from North Africa.

The AFEX meeting was also a preparatory round-table ahead of the 18th General Meeting and Strategy Conference of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, IFEX.

Present at the AFEX meeting were leaders and officials from Africa Freedom of Expression Information Centre (AFIC), Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP), Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ).

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) and Regional Director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Zoe Titus, commended the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) for hosting the organisation’s secretariat and for effectively steering the network through its first year of operations.

AFEX was formed nearly two years ago when representatives of freedom of expression organisations in Africa that are members of the Toronto-based global network IFEX, met in Accra, Ghana on December 9 and 10, 2013, to establish the organization as a framework for regional networking in Africa.

The MFWA, which has its headquarters in Accra, has since hosted the AFEX secretariat.

For enquiries:

AFEX Secretariat

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.africafex.org

 

Photo credit: MISA

Uganda: Police shoots, detains journalist and assaults others covering opposition politicians.

Police in Jinja district in Eastern Uganda have on October 15, 2015 shot and injured a Radio One correspondent in the area, Ivan Vincent Mukisa. He was covering a scuffle between police and supporters of Dr. Kizza Besigye, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential flag bearer for the 2016 general elections.

Police fired teargas and rubber bullets at Besigye’ supporters who were protesting the arrest of one of their area leaders. Mukisa was admitted at a local health center, and was reportedly recovering.

On the same day, police arrested Alfred Ochwo, a journalist working with The Observer newspaper for taking photographs of the arrest of an opposition politician, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda at his home in Busiika, Kira Town Council in Wakiso District. Ssemujju is a Member of Parliament for Kyadondo East and spokesperson of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change.

Ochwo was detained for four hours before he was released without recording a statement or any charges. “I was arrested on the orders of Siraje Bakaleke, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Commander for Southern region, when he saw me taking photos as the police were beating Ssemujju during his arrest.” Ochwo told HRNJ-Uganda. He said he was forcefully arrested and thrown under the seats of the police patrol car and driven to Naggalama police station; from where he was ordered to surrender all his belongings and kicked to force him remove his shoes. Bakaleke later released him and drove him back to Kampala.

In a related development, police assaulted journalists in Kampala who were covering the detention of Ssemujju at Kira Road Police Station in Kampala. They included journalists of two private TV stations NTV and NBS who were relaying live the events. The victim journalists were Julius Ssenkandwa, Sheila Nduhukire and Abubaker Zirabamuzaale and Joseph Sabiiti and Remmy Bahati respectively. Journalists from other media houses included; Nasser Kayanja, Ronald Muhindo, Stephen Kafeero, Nicholas Bamulanzeki, Kenny Kazibwe, among others.

“The police did not want us to cover the events. They confronted us and pushed us from the police premises all through across the road. They used force and body amours to push us. They wanted to destroy our gadgets and interfere with our live coverage” Sabiiti told HRNJ-Uganda. This was corroborated by other victims HRNJ-Uganda talked to.

These series of attack on journalists come barely a day since the inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kaihura warned to deal with media houses which cover opposition related political activities. He singled out NBS and NTV for their live coverage of such events.

“This emerging spate of police actions on the media are a clear indication that the freedoms of the media, speech and expression are under direct attack by the very police force that is mandated to safeguard them for the benefit of all Ugandans. It is not criminal for the media to trail and cover political contestants.” said HRNJ-Uganda’s National Coordinator Robert Ssempala.

HRNJ-Uganda

DRC: Three journalists arrested in a radio raid by agents of intelligence service.

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A group of military men from information services popularly known as « Bureau 2 » interrupted, Tuesday October 13, 2015 around2:00pm, the installation of “ Radio le Messager du Peuple”, a private radio station transmitting from Uvira, a town situated 128m from Bakavu, capital of South-Kivu (East of DRC). At least 3 persons, two of them Congolese journalists and a technician from Burundi were brutally arrested in the said attack. They are: Mazambi Mupenye and Lucien Kanana (both Congolese) and a certain man identified only as Egide, a technician with Burundi-based Radio Publique Africaine RPA, who is on a working mission in Uvira, were all forcibly transported to the premises of the military intelligence service where they were held prisoners.

According to information gathered by JED, the Congolese services accused “Radio le Messager du Peuple” of frequently broadcasting a political magazine recorded in Bujumbura entitled “Humura Burundi” (which means in Kirundi: Burundi be peaceful), produced by Radio Publique Africaine, a major Burundian radio station banned from broadcasting since April 27 2015, by Burundian authorities in the wake of political tensions during the elections in the country.

Questioned by JED regarding the existing relation between this Congolese media house and the Burundian radio station, Mutere Kifara, director of Radio Le Messager du Peuple, stated that: “Our media signed a partnership agreement with Radio Publique Africaine for dissemination its political magazine “Humura Burundi”. Radio Le Messager du Peuple also receives signal in Burundi. This programme was broadcast on our airwaves everyday at 19:00. On Wednesday October 7, 2015, I received a call from an officer from National Intelligence Agency who wanted to know the broadcast hours of this magazine. The following day, a few minutes before the broadcast of the programme, our transmission signal was scrambled. We were forced to stop the broadcast of this programme on Friday (October 9, 2015, ndlr) after we met a police officer who informed us that locale the authorities were against the broadcast of this Burundian programme from Uvira”.

JED strongly condemns this unwarranted attack by the security service on the media and demands immediate release of these three journalists who were arbitrarily arrested at their place of work by persons who have neither the power nor the mandate to sanction the content of a radio programme.

Uganda: Counter Terrorism Police arrest journalist

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The Counter Terrorism Police, yesterday September 23, 2015 arrested a journalist from a court room in Kampala, detained him for one and a half hours accusing him of indulging in “ work that is not his”. He was released without any charges.

Derrick Kiyonga a court reporter with the Observer newspaper was arrested at around 1.00pm as he came out of the court where he is covering the case of the people suspected to have planted the twin bombs in Kampala in 2010 during the world cup final that killed more than 70 people and injured several.

As i was coming out of the court room, a counter terrorism officer stood in front of me and said you are under arrest. He took me to a police patrol car, forced me in and drove off at a break neck speed to place I did not know,” Kiyonga told HRNJ-Uganda.

He said he was put in a room, ordered to remove his shoes. His phone and note book were taken away before he was subjected to questioning. “Three men started interrogating me. They asked me what relationship I have with the suspects in court, my family background, my parents and so many other things.”

Earlier on while in court Kiyonga had been summoned by a plain clothed police officer and warned over passing on chits from the suspects to their lawyers. “I got concerned and told Caleb about the warning by the security officer. I passed on the chit innocently and did not know the contents therein. Journalists usually do it because they sit between suspects and their lawyers”. Said Kiyonga. Caleb Alaka raised Kiyonga’s concerns with the trial judge, Alphose Owiny Dollo. The judge ruled that there was no problem with what the journalist had done and warned the security from intimidating people in court. He said the suspects have a right to consult their lawyers.

When the court session ended, Kiyonga was arrested and whisked away to an unknown destination. In the afternoon, the defence lawyer Caleb raised the matter again to the judge who said he will not continue with the trial until the journalist is released.

The Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson, Onyango Patrick, told HRNJ-Uganda that Kiyonga was arrested “for doing work which was not his”. Why was he doing work which is not his? Onyango asked.When asked what offence Kiyonga committed for passing on a chit from a suspect to his lawyer, Onyango said “you read law books”.

“HRNJ-Uganda is pleased by the actions taken by Justice Alphonse Owiny Dollo. The Uganda Police Force has an obligation to respect rule of law and the Judiciary as an institution of justice. Free flow of information should not be curtailed on mere suspicion by police” said HRNJ-Uganda National Coordinator Robert Ssempala.

Originally published on HRNJ-Uganda’s WEBSITE

Photo credit: handcuffs.org

Zambia: State of the media report available now

The 2015 second quarter report outlining the state of the media in Zambia is available now for download here. MISA Zambia launched the report at a formal event at the Cresta Golfview Hotel in Lusaka on September 2, 2015. The event attracted close to 45 key stakeholders from academia, civil society, government and the journalism fraternity at large.

Highlights of the report are the complexities around the digital migration process in Zambia as well as analysis of the delays around the enactment of access to information legislation in Zambia.

In his keynote address, Forum for Democratic Process (FODEP) Executive Director, Macdonald Chipenzi stated that media freedom in Zambia had only seen a marginal improvement under the PF government as journalists have continued to suffer double tragedy through increased incidences of harassment and intimidation in the midst of draconian legislation that criminalises the freedom of expression on the national statutes and low pay among others.

The meeting resolved to draft a petition on the ATI bill and meet the minister of information to present the said petition as a build up to the convening of Parliament later this month.

MISA Zambia

MISA Zimbabwe condemns Pres. Mugabe’s threats against the media

MISA Zimbabwe strongly condemns threats by President Robert Mugabe against the media made on 15 September 2015 while addressing guests at a luncheon hosted for him by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.He was quoted in The Herald of 16 September 2015 as having said:

“…You are thinking how you can excite people who read so that they can buy your paper. No. The journalism we are experiencing is not the journalism we expect. If we begin to take control now, rigid control, people should not cry foul…”He made these remarks while expressing his displeasure at the media’s coverage and interpretation of indications of a planned launch of a new political party by former Vice President Joice Mujuru.

The threat underlines the dangers that continue to confront the media despite the adoption of a new constitution guaranteeing media freedom.

Clearly, it demonstrates that although there have been fewer cases of harassment of journalists in the recent past as compared to previous years, government can easily resort to  media repression at the slightest of opportunity using an array of undemocratic legislative instruments that remain at its disposal.

Besides, such blatant threats can potentially trigger extra-legal violation of media freedom by political activists, who in the past have – with impunity – harassed and beaten up media practitioners as well as torched and barred from circulation media products they deemed reflected badly on their political parties and leaders.

MISA-Zimbabwe therefore calls on the country’s leadership to exercise restraint and desist from issuing such threats, which are not only in conflict with the letter and spirit of the constitution but inherently border on incitement to media freedom violations.

There are available civil remedies that President Mugabe, government officials and indeed ordinary members of the public can pursue when aggrieved by the media. Seeking redress through the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe is one such avenue.

Issued by:
Kumbirai Mafunda
Chairperson, MISA-Zimbabwe

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MISA is a regional non-governmental organisation with members in 11 of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. Officially launched in September 1992, MISA focuses primarily on the need to promote free, independent and pluralistic media, as envisaged in the 1991 Windhoek Declaration.  

UN, AU and civil society seek to intervene in Criminal Defamation case of a journalist.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Prof David Kaye; the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, as well as national, regional and international non-governmental organizations, including Media Rights Agenda (MRA), are seeking to join proceedings of a criminal defamation suit filed by a Ugandan journalist, Mr. Ssembuusi Ronald, at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) in Arusha, Tanzania.

Mr Ssembuusi, who is now deceased, is challenging the legality of the offence of “criminal defamation” and hearing for the case which has now drawn international attention began on July 31, 2015.

The case was presided over by a panel of five judges, led by the Principal Judge of the Court, Justice Monica Mugenyi in the First Instance Court. With the complainant being deceased, Mr Ssembuusi’s lawyer and representative were directed to file a motion substituting the deceased with the duly appointed legal representative. The court was therefore adjourned to allow the process be finalized.

The deceased filed a case at the East African Court of Justice in December 2014, challenging his conviction and one year jail term sentence by the Kalangala Magistrates Court on charges of criminal defamation. The complainant, Mr Ssembuusi who died in January 2015 after filing his case with the EACJ worked as a former CBS FM radio correspondent in the Kalangala district, southern Central Uganda.

In his affidavit, Mr Ssembuusi contends that the continued use by the Uganda government of sections 179 and 180 of the Penal Code Act of Uganda which provide for the offence of criminal defamation is a violation of the fundamental and operating principles of the East African Community Treaty. He is requesting that the Court determine whether or not these sections of the Penal Code Act are justifiable restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, media and access to information that are protected by the Treaty for Establishment of East African Community.

The late Mr Ssembuusi is represented by Catherine Anite and Nicholas Opiyo of Oasis Advocates while the Attorney General of Uganda is represented by State Attorneys Jeffrey Atwine, Harriet Nalukenge and Ojambo Bichachi. Despite the demise of the complainant, his lawyer, Anite has assured journalists in Arusha that the case will go on because the court allows for appointment of a representative.

The United Nations and the African Union, whose interests in this case have peaked, are ready to provide insights as to how the AU and UN define the suitable outlines of government restrictions on speech and press in the context of defamation laws, and will assist the Court in assessing the statute’s compatibility with the stipulated principles in the EAC Treaty. In a joint application filed on July 30th, the special rapporteurs of both organizations said they will provide the Court with expert interpretation on international law from the perspective of the AU and UN.

A number of organizations are seeking to intervene in the defamation case as Article 40 of the EAC Treaty allows a Partner State, the Secretary General or a resident of a Partner State who is not a party to a case before the Court to ask to intervene with the aim of supporting or opposing the arguments of a party to the case. The organizations are seeking to improve the court’s view and understanding of the right to freedom of expression, press and access to information by supplementing it with a comparative and international law perspective which will in turn “enhance the Court’s assessment of Uganda’s criminal defamation law”

“This is very encouraging, we hope the court will accept the request and allow these organizations and individuals to contribute towards enriching the jurisprudence of freedom of expression and the media in Uganda,” said Robert Ssempala, the National Coordinator, Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda.

Media Rights Agenda

Basotho media review Peace Building, Conflict Reporting project

On September 4, 2015, MISA Lesotho convened journalists to review the progress and impact of its Media Peace Building and Conflict Reporting Now project. The project, funded jointly by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Lesotho, was a five-month intervention to prepare journalists for the February 2015 elections. The project ended in June 2015.

The purpose of the September 4th meeting, in this case funded separately by UNDP, was to review progress made through the intervention and discuss issues for potential follow-up. The one-day meeting was held at Lehakoe Recreation and Cultural Centre and drew 40 participants from both private and public media. UNDP has already indicated its support for more interventions to improve post-election capacity building of Basotho journalists.

The meeting confirmed that media reporting during elections was of a high ethical standard. The quality of reporting was also aided by MISA’s strong coordination, as it had deployed 30 trained journalists throughout the country. The election reports were carried live and simultaneously on nine cooperating radio stations throughout the country.

However, following the elections it appears that there has been regression in reporting quality. This is attributed to the fact that those journalists who were reporting on the 2015 elections are not currently responsible for political reporting in their respective media houses. It has become clear that the scope of the training would have to be extended to include more journalists and also ensure that MISA Lesotho is enabled to continue its coordination efforts.

More exciting capacity building initiatives are being planned for later in the year, including a five-day training workshop on investigative journalism October 5 – 9, 2015.

MISA Lesotho

MISA Zambia commemorates first ‘Online Media Week’

It was a week of intense activity between August 31 and September 4, 2015, when MISA Zambia commemorated its inaugural Online Media Week. The purpose of the initiative was to create awareness of the role of online media in propagating national development through encouragement of the freedom of expression.

The week was commemorated under the theme “Online Media Freedom for Better Citizen Awareness”.

Among the activities carried out included daily radio interviews and programmes on internet freedom, net neutrality and local content creation. Others included dialogue on issues including online ethics, safety, as well as a special day dedicated to online activism.

To crown it all, an exhibition for Online Media was held on Friday, September 4th at the Arcades Shopping Centre with a specialised interactive display and interaction with members of the public.

MISA Zambia issued a statement on the potential of online media to facilitate citizen participation and good governance in Zambia through instant, on demand access to information for informed decision making and freedom of expression.

MISA Zambia, in collaboration with its partners, hope to facilitate this event on an annual basis.

Download full statement here.

 MISA Zambia

Lesotho: Revue de presse de Basotha, projet de la consolidation de la paix et de reportages du conflit

Le 4 septembre 2015, MISA Lesotho a convoqué des journalistes pour examiner le progrès et l’effet de son projet de la Consolidation de la paix et des reportages du conflit médias Maintenant. Le projet financé conjointement par Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) et Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement (PNUD) à Lesotho, était une intervention de cinq mois pour préparer les journalistes en vue des élections en Février 2015. Le projet a pris fin en Juin 2015.

Le but de la réunion du 4 septembre, dans ce cas, financé séparément par le PNUD, a été de réexaminer le progrès réalisé grâce à l’intervention et de discuter des questions visées à un suivi supplémentaire. La réunion d’une journée a eu lieu à Lehakoe Loisir et Centre culturel et attiré 40 participants à la fois les médias privés et publics. Le PNUD a déjà indiqué son soutien á plus d’interventions afin d’améliorer les compétences des journalistes de Basotho après les élections.

La réunion a confirmé que le reportage du média pendant les élections était celle de haut niveau d’éthique. La qualité de reportage a été favorisée par une forte coordination de MISA, comme il avait déployés 30 journalistes formés dans tout le pays. Les rapports sur les élections ont été mis en direct et simultanément sur neuf stations coopérants dans tout le pays.

Cependant, après les élections, il semble qu’il y’a eu une régression dans la qualité des reportages. Cela est attribuable au fait que les journalistes qui avaient fait les reportages sur les élections 2015 ne sont pas actuellement responsables des reportages politiques dans leurs maisons de médias respectives. Il est devenu évident que la portée de la formation devrait être étendue pour inclure plus de journalistes et d’assurer également que MISA Lesotho est capable de poursuivre ses efforts de coordination.

Les initiatives de renforcement de capacités plus passionnantes sont prévues pour plus tard dans l’année, y compris un atelier de formation de cinq jours sur le journalisme d’investigation de 5-9 Octobre 2015.