Africa

Goma, October 12, 2018–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should immediately release Sylvanie Kiaku, editor of the privately owned weekly newspaper La Percée, who was arrested on October 10 in the capital, Kinshasa, and drop charges of criminal defamation against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: See CPJ’s updated safety advisory here https://cpj-preprod.go-vip.net/2019/11/cpj-safety-advisory-journalist-targets-of-pegasus-.php.] In a report published on September 18, Citizen Lab said it had detected Pegasus, a spyware created for mobile devices, in over 45 countries. Pegasus, which transforms a cellphone into a mobile surveillance station, could have been deployed against a range of journalists and civil society…

Nairobi, September 26, 2018–Authorities in the Somali state of Galmudug should immediately release broadcast journalist Mohamed Abdiwali Tohow without charge, the Committee to Protect Journalist said today. Intelligence personnel detained the journalist on September 22 over a report broadcast the previous day for the Mogadishu-based Radio Kulmiye, according to the station’s director, Burhan Dini Farah,…

Nairobi, September 21, 2018–Police in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in Somalia, should rigorously investigate the killing of Abdirisak Said Osman, a reporter and photographer with the privately owned radio station Codka Nabada, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Nairobi, September 21, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today urged Ethiopian authorities to ensure internet is available, including during times of unrest when access to information provided by journalists is crucial. Mobile internet was unavailable in the capital, Addis Ababa, from September 17 to the morning of September 19 amid protests and clashes, according to…

Bamako’s governor, Colonel Déberekoua Soara, indefinitely suspended Renouveau FM, a privately owned radio station in Bamako, Mali’s capital, on August 1, 2018. The station was accused by Soara of alleged incitement to hatred and revolt on a popular current affairs show, the broadcaster’s director, Sidi Mohamed Dicko, told CPJ. The station was back on the…

Nairobi, September 20, 2018–Police in Uganda detained at least eight journalists covering the return of opposition MP Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, from the U.S, according to media reports and local journalists. The arrests are the latest incident of Ugandan security personnel assaulting, harassing, or arresting journalists covering political tension in the past…

New York, September 17, 2018–An Abuja magistrate’s court today struck out a case against Jones Abiri, publisher and editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Weekly Source, Samuel Ogala, a lawyer who represents Abiri, told CPJ. The court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction over the state where the alleged wrongdoing took place, Ogala said. Abiri, who…

Goma, September 14, 2018–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should immediately release Tharcisse Zongia, editor-in-chief of the satirical weekly Grognon, who was jailed on September 6 in Kinshasa for criminal defamation, and take action to abolish the country’s criminal defamation laws, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Nairobi, September 6, 2018–Authorities in Kenya should carry out a thorough investigation and bring to justice those responsible for the September 3 assault and abduction of Daily Nation journalist Barrack Oduor and the death of his source, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.