Attacks against journalists increased in southern and eastern African countries in 2022, the Southern African Media Institute and Amnesty International (AI) said on World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday.
“The authorities of these two regions have increased attacks against journalists and against press freedom throughout the region to suppress news about corruption and human rights violations by 2022,” write the two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in a report released this Wednesday.
According to AI’s director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, quoted in the document, “There has been a worrying trend of attacks, harassment, intimidation and criminalization of journalism in the countries of Eastern and Southern Africa, which shows how far they are willing to reach out to the authorities, silence the media that exposes accusations of corruption and human rights abuses”.
“Journalists are a mirror to society; attacking them simply for doing their job sends the wrong message that states are not prepared to implement their human rights obligations and be held accountable,” added the regional director of the Southern African Media Institute. , Tabani Moyo. .
The report presents examples from practically all the countries in these two African regions, specifying the case of Mozambique, where “journalists considered critical of the Government are subjected to threats, harassment and intimidation”, recalling the case of the director of Crónica Jurídica y Judiciária , Armando Nenane, who was shot by two men who “said they were following orders from their superiors.”
In addition to this case, these two NGOs present cases from virtually every country in the region, such as Ethiopia, which arrested 29 journalists last year, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, “where journalists are constantly threatened, intimidated, detained and sometimes even killed with impunity for doing their job.”
Press freedom “is fundamental to guaranteeing transparent societies, and if the authorities are committed to building societies that respect human rights and hold governments accountable, then they must stop intimidating and harassing journalists”, under penalty of “plunging societies in the dark. concludes the report.
Source: TSF
