Zimbabwe / Africa

  

CPJ joins letter to UN and AU rapporteurs expressing concern about free expression in Zimbabwe

The Committee to Protect Journalists yesterday joined the Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights groups in an open letter to six special rapporteurs at the UN and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, expressing concern about the targeting of journalists and human rights…

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CPJ joins letter calling on African Union to secure release of Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined eight other press and human rights groups in sending a letter to Cyril Ramaphosa, the chair of the African Union and the president of South Africa, calling on him to use all means available to secure the release of jailed Zimbabwean reporter Hopewell Chin’ono. Chin’ono, an award-winning investigative…

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Protesters block the main route to Zimbabwe's capital Harare from Epworth township on January 14, 2019, after the government more than doubled the price of fuel. On January 15, CPJ joined more than 20 rights organizations and the #KeepItOn Coalition to call for authorities in Zimbabwe to restore internet and social media services. (AFP/Jekesai Njikizana)

CPJ joins call for Zimbabwe to restore internet and social media access

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined more than 20 rights organizations and the #KeepItOn Coalition to call for authorities in Zimbabwe to restore internet and social media services, commit to maintaining internet access, and encourage accountability from telecommunication and internet service providers to respect human rights.

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A man carries a street sign in Harare as protesters clash with police on August 26. Journalists have been beaten and detained while covering unrest in Zimbabwe. (Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo)

Journalists caught in crosshairs amid protests and unrest in Zimbabwe

A photograph of freelance journalist Lucy Yasini trying to ward off an attack by police while covering a protest in Harare was circulated on social media last week. A day later, a photograph was shared of two reporters, Obey Manayiti and Robert Tapfumaneyi, in the back of a police truck after their arrest. The incidents…

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Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court's decision to strike down criminal defamation must be implemented. (AFP/Jekesai Njikizana)

Zimbabwe court strikes down criminal defamation; implementation to be seen

In a landmark ruling, the Zimbabwean Constitutional Court on July 22 declared unconstitutional a section of the draconian Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act that criminalizes defamation.

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Zenzele Ndebele (Liesl Frankson/Wits Vuvuzela)

Q&A: Zenzele Ndebele promotes radio in Zimbabwe

With Zimbabwe elections days away, the fight over access to the airwaves has intensified. The media environment has loosened slightly compared with previous years, but most Zimbabweans still lack access to independent sources of news, including radio. One person familiar with obstacles to broadcasting is Zenzele Ndebele, editor of Radio Dialogue, a community radio station…

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Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace greet party supporters on their arrival at a campaign rally in Chitungiwiza, Zimbabwe, on Tuesday. (AP/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

As Zimbabwe vote nears, state media drown out others

When Star-FM launched on June 25, 2012, it was the first time in 30 years that Zimbabweans, who have known no other radio besides the state-controlled Radio Zimbabwe, had the chance to call in to a radio station to express their views. 

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A bid to rid Africa of criminal defamation, sedition laws

The African Union’s special rapporteur on freedom of expression and access to information, Commissioner Pansy Tlakula, has launched an auspicious initiative in East Africa to counter criminal defamation and sedition laws. Since independence, authorities and business interests in the East and Horn region have used criminal laws on sedition, libel, and insult–often relics of former,…

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Reporters surround Beatrice Mtetwa as she exited a courthouse today. (ZLHR/Kumbirai Mafunda)

Zimbabwe frees prominent lawyer Mtetwa on bail

Beatrice Mtetwa, a tenacious lawyer who has won accolades for stubbornly defending journalists and others persecuted by Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe, regained her freedom today after a hellish week that began on March 17 when she was arrested and charged with the criminal offense of “defeating or obstructing the course of justice.”

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CCTV's East Africa operations are headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. (CCTV)

China’s media footprint in Kenya

Will China’s quickly expanding media presence in Africa result in a fresh, alternative, and balanced perspective on the continent–much as Al-Jazeera altered the broadcast landscape with the launch of its English service in 2006–or will it be essentially an exercise in propaganda?

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