Africa

  
Statements
A man fixes Gambia's flag on Feburary 16, 2017, during preparations for the swearing-in ceremony for Gambia's new president, Adama Barrow. Gambia's Supreme Court decided on May 9, 2018, to declare criminal defamation unconstitutional, but upheld segments of the country's criminal code on sedition and false news, according to reports. (Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon)

Gambia declares criminal defamation unconstitutional, keeps some laws on sedition, false news

Nairobi, May 10, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the Gambian Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to declare criminal defamation unconstitutional, but is dismayed that segments of the country’s criminal code on sedition and false news were upheld.

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Features & Analysis
A banner of Tanzanian President John Magufuli adorns a wall around the country's tanzanite mines. Magufuli's government has imposed a series of restrictions on rights, including freedom of expression. (AFP/Joseph Lyimo)

CPJ joins call for Tanzanian government to respect human rights

CPJ, along with 64 other non-governmental organizations, today wrote to Tanzanian President John Magufuli to express concern about a worrying decline in the respect of human rights, including freedom of expression.

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Alerts
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta inspects an honor guard in Nairobi on May 2, 2018. CPJ calls on Kenyatta not to sign a cybercrime bill passed by Parliament. (Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)

Kenyan president should not sign cybercrime bill into law

Nairobi, May 10, 2018 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign into law a cybercrimes bill that was recently passed by the National Assembly because it will stifle press freedom.

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Alerts
Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza speaks during the launch ceremony on May 2, 2018, for the a constitutional referendum scheduled for May 17 that would allow him to remain in power for another 16 years. Burundian authorities today suspended the licensing for BBC and VOA, according to reports. (AFP/STR)

Burundi media regulator suspends BBC and VOA, warns other broadcasters

Nairobi, May 7, 2018–Authorities in Burundi should immediately lift a six-month licensing suspension imposed on radio broadcasts of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA), the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Burundi’s National Communication Council (CNC), the media industry regulator, on May 4 accused the two stations of breaching the country’s…

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Alerts
A police officer stands guard in Bamenda on February 22, 2018. Authorities in the city are detaining an Abakwa FM journalist over claims he aired secessionist propaganda. (AFP/Reinnier Kaze)

Cameroon military court orders radio journalist to be held for at least 6 months

New York, May 7, 2018–Cameroonian authorities must immediately release broadcaster Akumbom Elvis McCarthy from detention and ensure that the country’s military courts are not used to prosecute journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Letters

CPJ expresses concerns to Ethiopia’s PM about lack of media freedom in the country

CPJ writes to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed urging him to call for reforms that will encourage a diverse and free press in Ethiopia and uphold the public’s access to information.

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Features & Analysis
Cartoonist Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé, pictured in court in February 2018. The journalist was acquitted and released from jail but authorities in Equatorial Guinea have not renewed his passport, which means Esono Ebalé cannot return to El Salvador. (AFP/Samuel Obiang)

CPJ joins call for Equatorial Guinea to renew cartoonist’s passport

CPJ, along with eight other human rights organizations, today urged the government of Equatorial Guinea to renew without further delay the passport of acclaimed cartoonist Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé.

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Alerts
A view of Liberia's capital, Monrovia, in October 2017. Police are investigating the death of a journalist found stabbed outside his home in the city. (AFP/Issouf Sanogo)

Journalist found stabbed and killed in Liberia

New York, April 18, 2018–Liberian authorities should thoroughly investigate the killing of Tyron Brown, a video editor and camera operator with Super Communications, a privately owned outlet that runs Super FM and Super Television, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Alerts
Locals walk along the beach during sunset in the capital Luanda, Angola in June 2016. CPJ today condemned a decision by Angolan authorities to continue the trial of journalists Rafael Marques de Morais, who runs the anti-corruption news website Maka Angola, and Mariano Bras Lourenco, a correspondent for the newspaper O Crime, behind closed doors instead of in open court. (Reuters/Ed Cropley)

CPJ concerned with developments in trial against Angolan journalists

New York, April 16, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a decision by Angolan authorities to continue the trial of journalists Rafael Marques de Morais, who runs the anti-corruption news website Maka Angola, and Mariano Bras Lourenco, a correspondent for the newspaper O Crime, behind closed doors instead of in open court. The two…

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Alerts
Liberia's President George Weah speaks during his swearing-in ceremony at Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Monrovia, Liberia on January 22, 2018. One of the plaintiffs in a US$1.8 million civil defamation lawsuit against Front Page Africa was previously affiliated with Weah's Coalition for Democratic Change party. (Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon)

Liberia should reform libel laws in wake of $1.8 million civil lawsuit against Front Page Africa

New York, April 11, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over a US$1.8 million civil defamation lawsuit against Front Page Africa, a privately owned Liberian newspaper that has long been the subject of complaints and harassment for its critical reporting on successive governments.

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