In Botswana, on 27 January the Botswana government convened a meeting of Public Relations (PR) Officers in government departments to find out why information flow is constricted. This follows complains by the media and civic society that the government is increasingly carrying out business in secrecy and that the media was increasingly finding it difficult to obtain information. While the move by the government is applauded, concerns still remain on the implications to the media of the Media Practitioners Act passed end of 2008. The controversial law provides for a statutory media body as well as punitive measures for breaching an imposed media code of conduct. Source: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
In Eritrea, journalist Dawit Isaak held without trial for almost eight years is believed to be seriously ill. In September 2001, Isaak was arrested along with 21 other independent journalists and reformist politicians and has been held ever since, although he was briefly freed in 2005. His case has been taken up by press freedom groups with the support of journalists in Sweden, where he arrived 22 years ago as a refugee from war in Ethiopia. On 4 January the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called for urgent humanitarian action by the international community. The IFJ is concerned because of reports that he has been transferred from prison to the hospital in recent days. Source: International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
In Mauritania, on 3 February, the Supreme Court granted bail to Isselmou Ould Abdelkader, a former legislator, after he spent over three months in prison for criticising the country’s military regime. Source: Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
In South Africa, President Kgalema Motlanthe has reportedly refused to sign the Films and Publications Amendment Bill, questioning its constitutionality and returning it "untouched" to Parliament. The controversial bill initially meant to fight child pornography, has been referred back to Parliament in terms of Section 79(1) of the Constitution. Media rights activists in South Africa say the bill had the potential to be used as an effective tool for pre-publication censorship, at the whim of the government. Source: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
In Niger, Boussada Ben Ali, managing editor of L’Action, a Niamey-based independent weekly newspaper accused of “disseminating false information likely to disturb public order” in an article in issue No. 44 of the paper published on 13 January, has been convicted of the offence on 6 February and sentenced to a three month imprisonment. Source: Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
In Madagascar, reporter Ando Ratovonirina was fatally shot while covering anti-government demonstration outside the presidential palace in Antananarivo as security forces open fire on protestors on 7 February. Ratovonirina ran a privately owned Radio and Télévision Analamanga (RTA). The 25-year-old reporter and cameraman were among the scores of people who were killed or wounded when security forces opened fired on the protesters. Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
In Somalia, a man with a knife attacked Journalist Hassan Bulhan Ali on 7 February, seriously injuring him during a tribal reconciliation meeting. Hassan Bulhan Ali is director of Radio Abudwaq, in the town of Abudwaq, in Galgadud region, Central Somalia. Source: National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ)
In The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Bruno Ossébi, an online journalist known for criticizing the government, was mysteriously killed after being badly burned in a late-night fire at his residence on 21 January. Authorities have not provided any information on the cause and circumstances of the fire, which coincided with a similar fire at the French home of an exiled political dissident. Source: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
In Swaziland, the media is being threatened with sedition charges if they criticize the King’s address. On 6 February, journalist, Mantoe Phakathi faced gender discrimination, and was prevented from covering opening of Parliament. Phakathi, a journalist for privately-owned Nation magazine was harassed and barred from covering the state opening of the Swazi Parliament for no other reason other than that she is female. Source: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)