In August 2024, attacks on journalists covering anti-government protests in sub-Saharan Africa soared, especially in Nigeria, where dozens of journalists covering the 10-day #EndBadGovernance assaulted, detained, or blocked from accessing protest sites.
Overall, IPI documented 64 violations or threats to media freedom in 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa in August 2024. As in previous months, state actors remained the lead perpetrators of press freedom violations, and accounted for 82 percent of documented violations.
The cases in Nigeria included the detention of journalist Jide Oyekunle in Abuja while he was covering the protest. Police also seized his mobile phone. The police also brutalized journalist Olukayode Jayeola of The PUNCH Newspaper and detained him at Eagle Square in Abuja where he was covering the protests. In Kano, hoodlums attacked several journalists covering the protest in Sokoto, the capital city of Kano State in the north of Nigeria. In Borno State, nine Radio Ndarason Internationale journalists and media workers were arrested by security officials in Maiduguri as they were reporting the protests.
In Somalia, between August 17 and 18, several journalists covering anti-government protests following the closure of a market were assaulted, arrested, and detained. Two journalists, Nimo Muhidin from Somali Cable TV and Safa Osman, who freelances for Dalsan TV, were harassed and threatened by police while recording business owners protesting the closure. A police officer also reportedly threatened Nimo with his pistol, forcing the journalists to stop their coverage of the protests.
In the DRC, journalist Mohoye Madiba of the Congolese National Radio and Television (RTNC/Baraka) and Amara TV in Baraka, South Kivu province, east of DRC was threatened by a leader of the Mai-Mai militia group via a phone call. The leader accused Madiba of publishing an article critical of the militia’s toll barriers on a main road. According to an OLPA report, the journalist was warned of potential reprisals over his reportage. On the evening of August 27, 2024, in Madiba’s absence, four armed individuals visited his home, and fearing for his life, Madiba went into hiding. OLPA has denounced this act as a violation of press freedom and has urged the military authorities in South Kivu to ensure Madiba’s safety.
Elsewhere, in Eswatini, on August 13, the Supreme Court overturned a 2016 High Court decision that declared several repressive provisions of the 1938 Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA) and 2008 Sedition and Subversive Activities Act (SSA) invalid. Through this decision, the Supreme Court re-enacted provisions that undermine fundamental rights, including media freedom.
In Guinea Bissau, on August 13, at least 10 journalists were prevented from covering the arrival of Braima Camará, president of the ruling party, MADAM-G15, at Bissau International Airport. According to reports, the police restricted the journalists’ access to a VIP reception, which is typically open to the press, and directed them to leave the passenger arrivals area and a nearby roundabout where they had gathered. On August 22, journalist Indira Balde Correia of the Portuguese broadcaster RTP-África in Bissau as well as the president of the local press defense group SINJOTECS were also barred from reporting on government related activities. According to reports, the ban order came from high-ranking government officials.
