The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) has endorsed a statement condemning the rising incidence of media repression in five African countries earlier this week.
The fourth African Media Leadership Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya from April 4-7, was attended by leading media executives and editors from 12 African countries.
They took the time to discuss the media situation in East Africa and the Horn, and condemned the rising incidence of media repression in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Chairperson of Sanef Joe Thloloe told the Mail & Guardian Online on Thursday that ”we need media freedom in Africa”.
”We believe that one of the cornerstones of democracy is media freedom. Without media freedom, there cannot be democracy,” he said.
A statement from the African Media Leadership conference read: ”Coming at a time when the region, and the African continent in general, is trying to catch the world’s attention — with regard to higher foreign direct investment, more significant roles and recognition in global politics, and poverty alleviation — these attacks on the media signify a major setback in political and civil freedoms.”
It added the attacks on the media raise questions on ”Africa’s commitment to democracy, globalisation and human and economic development”.
Peter Mwesige, the head of department of mass communication at Makerere University in Uganda and former editor of the Monitor publication in Kampala spoke to M&G Online and said that some of the concerns discussed at the conference included the arrests and imprisonment of many Ethiopian journalists, the expulsion of five Kenyan journalists from Tanzania because of political reasons and the recent shutting down of a radio station for a week in Uganda because the station aired a politically-based programme.
”Ethiopia has one of the highest rates of imprisoned journalists in the world. We were also concerned about the recent raids of The Standard newspaper in Kenya,” he said.
Mwesige said that media repression in Zimbabwe did not go unnoticed at the conference. ”It did creep up. We did also note some of the press-freedom issues and the state of free expression in Zimbabwe,” he said.
According to the statement the conference:
- ”Affirms its solidarity with the media institutions and practitioners in the region and Africa, and their ability to serve their respective societies effectively.
- ”Calls on governments in the region to respect international conventions on universal freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and to immediately stop repressing their media institutions;
- ”Encourages governments in the region to engage in constructive dialogue with the media institutions and seek amicable ways to strengthen the mass media’s self-regulation initiatives; and
- ”Urges pan-African initiatives like Nepad [New Partnership for African Development] and the African Union to recognise the freedom of the press as a cornerstone of democracy and development.”
Incidents of media repression over the past six months ”have spelt out a systematic pattern to muzzle media institutions and practitioners in the region”, said the statement.
The incidents include journalists being intimidated and detained without charge or access to the due process of law; journalists being charged with attempted genocide and high treason for reporting political protests; and wanton damage to broadcasting equipment and printing presses by government security agents.