Reporters who dig up carefully buried facts about those in power can easily find
themselves in danger. In countries where a tradition of watchdog journalism has
not yet taken hold, the risks of practicing investigative reporting can be real
and physical for those reporters that take it on.
Committee to Protect Journalists
Ghana
| Angola, Burundi, Censorship, Chad, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo
Attacks on the Press
| China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo
When Press Freedom
and Democracy Are Out of Step
By Tom Rhodes
Ballots may have replaced bullets in much of Africa since the dawn of this new century, but one of the great political ironies for at least part of the continent has been a loss of press freedom following the voting. Leaders in a large swath of sub-Saharan Africa have drawn approving nods from Western politicians for holding sometimes unprecedented elections. Three such countries are the Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Ethiopia. All have democratically elected presidents and Western support. Yet between them they hold the unenviable record of placing at or near the top of CPJ's 2007 list of the world's worst backsliders on press freedom.
Attacks on the Press
| Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda
Attacks & developments throughout the region
Senegal's leaders promise new rights, while its laws deny them.
JULY 4, 2005
Posted: July 22, 2005
Frank Boahene, Free Press
IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Claude Decker, Free Press
Thomas Kpakpo Thompson, Free Press
LEGAL ACTION
An Accra high court sentenced Boahene, editor of the private weekly, and directors Decker and Thompson to 15 days in prison for contempt of court, according to local sources. Boahene was arrested and jailed the same day, while Decker and Thompson went into hiding.
Posted: July 22, 2005
Frank Boahene, Free Press
IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Claude Decker, Free Press
Thomas Kpakpo Thompson, Free Press
LEGAL ACTION
An Accra high court sentenced Boahene, editor of the private weekly, and directors Decker and Thompson to 15 days in prison for contempt of court, according to local sources. Boahene was arrested and jailed the same day, while Decker and Thompson went into hiding.
Attacks on the Press
| Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Although the Kenya-based East African Standard, one of
Africa's oldest continuously published newspapers, marked its 100th
anniversary in November, journalism remains a difficult profession on
the continent, with adverse government policies and multifaceted
economic woes still undermining the full development of African media.
One year after President John Agyekum Kufuor's
media-friendly government repealed Ghana's criminal defamation law, the
state imposed controls on reporting about interclan clashes in March,
after a local tribal king and several of his supporters were killed
during a feud between rival clans in the northern Dagbon region. Kufuor
declared a state of emergency, which was still in effect at year's end,
and the information minister announced that unless journalists were
writing about official government-produced press releases, they were
required to clear stories on the conflict in Dagbon with the ministry.
Attacks on the Press
| Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Hopes
were high in July that Ivory Coast's political crisis would end after a
judge in the capital, Abidjan, confirmed that former prime minister
Alassane Dramane Ouattara, the leader of the opposition Rally for
Republicans (RDR), is an Ivory Coast citizen.
Your Excellency: CPJ is alarmed that your government has imposed controls on reporting about recent interclan clashes in the northern Dagbon area of Ghana.
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