Kampala — Another journalist has been beaten up by city tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba. This happened while the photojournalist, Arthur Kintu, was on duty at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) conference for special organs in Namboole on Monday.[more]

Johannesburg — THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced yesterday it would provisionally withdraw - for the second time - the case against Sunday Times reporter Mzilikazi wa Afrika and co-accused Victor Mlimi for further investigations. Mr wa Afrika was arrested by police on August 4 on charges of fraud, forgery and uttering at the Avusa offices in Johannesburg.

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The first law of media freedom is to protect and to uphold the peace in Puntland. Therefore, press freedom can never be a subsitute for defamation or advancement of political interests through violence.[more]

To journalists, sections 33, 34 and 35 of the Bill of Rights in the new Constitution are a great development. These sections guarantee them the freedom to seek, receive or impart information or ideas, independence of the media, and right of access to information. Given the vibrant nature of Kenya’s media, ranked third in Africa after South Africa and Nigeria, this new-found freedom is bound to unleash increased creativity and investment in the sector.[more]

The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, and Agence France-Presse sent a letter to South African President Jacob Zuma to express concern about a proposed law that could limit press freedom in South Africa.[more]

Proposed measures that could restrict the work of journalists in South Africa and even allow for the jailing of reporters have drawn protests from a group of international news organizations. The governing African National Congress has proposed a tribunal that could discipline journalists. The party, which has an overwhelming majority in parliament, also put forth legislation under which reporters could be jailed for publishing information that officials want kept secret.

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During a recent press conference organised by the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) in the wake of the Andrew Mwenda and Eastern Africa Media Institute sedition victory, Mwenda recalled his four days of detainment with pride and fondness. “Going to jail for me was a very important milestone,” he said defiantly. “My experience in jail was wonderful. I was able to stay with ordinary prisoners and see the challenge of the prison system in Uganda. The police were very nice to me, the president’s son came to see me, a sign that he also believes there should be democracy in this country, as did other ministers and the president’s brother, Salim Saleh.”[more]

A seven-member Committee charged with the responsibility to provide technical expertise for the drafting of a Broadcasting Bill for the consideration of Cabinet was yesterday inaugurated in Accra by the Minister of Information, John Tia Akologu. The Committee will also assist in the drafting of a specific Broadcasting Bill related to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation towards making the station a real public broadcaster.[more]

Imagine the media frenzy if a Manchester United player was arrested for the murder of a bobby on the beat. And in the Bees Roux saga, we have a similar sensation that will grip and divide our nation in the coming months.[more]

These claims (that there are ongoing efforts by the state and President Kagame to intimidate the citizenry into total silence and prevent the emergence of free discussion and debate) should not be dismissed outright. Nor even should they be accepted without question. In my 10 years of acquaintance with Rwanda, I have encountered many people who are reluctant to talk about anything that smells of what they understand to be ‘politics’.[more]