On February 3, 2016, Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court granted an application by MISA-Zimbabwe seeking confirmation of the fact that criminal defamation is no longer part of the law. The ruling followed a concession by the State that Section 96, which provides for criminal defamation under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (CODE), was void ab initio (from the beginning), which effectively brings the matter to finality. Arguing the case on behalf of the applicants comprising MISA-Zimbabwe, journalists Nqaba Matshazi, Sidney Saize, Godwin Mangudya and Roger Stringer, Advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba, argued that Section 96 was invalid…Read more

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Tanzania to end their harassment of the weekly newspaper Mawio. The Kiswahili-language newspaper was permanently banned from publishing in print and online Friday and two of its editors were briefly detained, according to reports. Announcing the ban on Saturday, Tanzania's information minister Nape Nnauye told reporters the privately owned paper had been barred from publishing under the 1976 Media Act, Government Announcement 55, for allegedly inciting violence in articles. He cited a report in which he said the paper declared the opposition candidate the winner in presidential elections in Zanzibar, and…Read more

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Cameroonian authorities to drop all charges against three journalists for failing to disclose information to the state. The three are scheduled to stand trial before a military court on Friday. Baba Wame, president of the Association of Cyber Journalists, Rodrigue Tongue, a reporter who formerly worked for the privately owned daily Le Messager, and Félix Cyriaque Ebolé Bola, a reporter for the privately owned daily Mutations, will appear in the military court in Yaoundé on charges of "non-denunciation," Denis Nkwebo, president of the Cameroon Journalism Trade Union, told CPJ. "Journalists…Read more

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Tanzania to end their harassment of the weekly newspaper Mawio. The Kiswahili-language newspaper was permanently banned from publishing in print and online Friday and two of its editors were briefly detained, according to reports.  Announcing the ban on Saturday, Tanzania's information minister Nape Nnauye told reporters the privately owned paper had been barred from publishing under the 1976 Media Act, Government Announcement 55, for allegedly inciting violence in articles. He cited a report in which he said the paper declared the opposition candidate the winner in presidential elections in Zanzibar, and…Read more

The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that journalists in Uganda are being prevented from freely covering Parliament and campaigning for next month's presidential elections. The government announced this week that journalists without a university qualification will be barred from covering parliament, according to local reports. Journalists have also reported being attacked and threatened while covering the election campaign. "The entire democratic process is undermined if journalists are restricted whether through arbitrary regulations or physical violence from covering politicians," said Sue Valentine, CPJ's Africa program coordinator. On Monday, the Parliamentary Commission sent a…Read more