Media freedom under threat in southern Africa: Watchdog

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - Several countries in southern Africa continue to violate media freedom by jailing journalists for doing their jobs, Amnesty International said Friday marking World Press Freedom Day.

The rights group’s southern Africa regional director, Deprose Muchena, said it documented several cases in 2018, where authorities in Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe attempted to muzzle journalist and restrict freedom of expression.

He said reporters were being harassed or jailed for their work, with far-reaching implications, including self-censorship.

“This onslaught is undermining the very essence of free societies, where journalists must be able to do their work without fearing intimidation, harassment or other reprisals,” said Muchena.

The report cites examples in all countries in the region, including Zambia, where the The Rainbow Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Derrick Sinjela was arrested last December and sentenced to an 18-month jail term for publishing an opinion piece written by an activist alleging corruption in the judiciary.

Sinjela was unfairly convicted for contempt of court and jailed for criticizing the judiciary about a case that had been ended.

Investigative journalist Estacio Valoi was abducted by the Mozambican military and held incommunicado for two days last December, accused of spying and aiding and abetting militant groups in Mozambique.

Amnesty says the he was later released without charge, although his equipment remains confiscated by the military for a supposed “further investigation.”

Fernand Cello spent nearly two years in a Madagascan jail after being convicted on trumped up charges related to his work, but was last month acquitted by an appeals court.

And police raided a Zimbabwean newsroom of an independent online news site and fired teargas while chasing a reporter who had filmed security personnel forcefully evicting street vendors in the capital.

“A vibrant and independent press is essential for the enjoyment of human rights,” Muchena said in the report. “Journalists should not be treated as enemies of the state.”