Kwaku Asante, Author at Media Foundation For West Africa

Consultancy Services: Capacity Assessment of Media Organisations in 5 Countries

Media and Good GovernanceJan 21, 2019888Views 0Likes 0Comments

Introduction: The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is implementing a project aimed at improving the quality, independence and freedoms of the media in West Africa. The project titled: “Promoting Free, Quality and Independent Media in West Africa through Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building.” is being implemented in five (5) countries - Ghana, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire,…

University Authorities Ban Political Expression on Campus

Free Expression ViolationsJan 15, 20191KViews 0Likes 0Comments

The authorities of the University of Liberia (UL) have banned indefinitely all campus-based political activities including rallies and marches, a move the student body has rejected as “a disregard for the rights of students.” A release issued by the University authorities on January 11, 2019 said all student groups and campus-based political activities on all…

Parliamentarians Sue Journalist; Demand USD 2M Damages

Free Expression ViolationsJan 14, 2019745Views 0Likes 0Comments

Liberian lawmakers have filed a 2 Million US Dollar lawsuit against a journalist and his media house over allegations of corruption and bribery against the parliamentarians. Philibert Browne, the publisher of the private newspaper Hot Pepper, was sued for alleging on a private radio station in December 2018 that some former and current members of…

Prosecutors Demand 4 Years Imprisonment for Detained Activist

Free Expression ViolationsJan 11, 2019764Views 0Likes 0Comments

Political activist, Foly Satchivi, risks spending time in prison after prosecutors demanded a four year sentence against him when he appeared in a Magistrate’s court in Lome on January 9, 2019. Satchivi, the leader of a political pressure group, “En Aucun Cas”, was arrested in August 2018 as he and his colleague were meeting to…

MFWA Condemns Shooting of Journalists, Demands Punishment for Perpetrators

Safety of JournalistsJan 9, 2019800Views 0Likes 0Comments

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns the shooting of three journalists in Nigeria at a political party rally in Ikeja, Lagos, and calls for thorough investigations and justice for the victims. The three, Emmanuel Oladesu, group political editor of The Nation newspaper, Temitope Ogunbanke, a correspondent of News Telegraph and Abiodun Yusuf, a cameraman…

Ghana: MFWA’s Perspective on the President’s Encounter with the Media

Media and Good GovernanceDec 19, 20181KViews 0Likes 0Comments

On Wednesday (December 19, 2018), the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, hosted journalists in Ghana at the Jubilee House, the seat of government, to respond to questions on the state of affairs in the country and the performance of his government after almost two years in office. The event, commonly referred to as…

ECOWAS Moves to Improve Digital Accessibility in West Africa

Digital RightsDec 17, 2018810Views 0Likes 0Comments

Abuja, 15th December, 2018--The Commission of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called for Member States to ensure digital accessibility for all Community citizens with emphasis on Persons with Disabilities (PwD). This was the outcome of a two-day validation workshop on regional Information and Communications Technology (ICT) accessibility policy. In his remarks on behalf…

MFWA, 15 Press Freedom Partners Petition President Buhari over Killing of Four Journalists in 2017

Safety of JournalistsDec 14, 2018848Views 0Likes 0Comments

The Media Foundation for West Africa and its 15 Press Freedom Partners across West Africa have petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over the killings of four journalists in separate incidents that occurred in Nigeria in 2017. The four Nigerian journalists, Famous Giobaro, Lawrence Okojie, Ikechukwu Onubogu and Abdul Ganiyu Lawal, were all shot dead by unknown…

Two Dead as Government Continues Bloody Repression of Street Protests

Free Expression ViolationsDec 13, 20181KViews 0Likes 0Comments

The government in Togo has brutally enforced its ban on opposition demonstrations with a crackdown that has left at least two people dead. After failing to convince the government to postpone legislative elections due on December 20, 2018, the opposition coalition organised its supporters for street protests in some of the major cities of the…

French Court Approves Extradition of Suspect as Burkinabe Media Commemorate 20th Anniversary of Killing of Norbert Zongo

Impunity, Safety of JournalistsDec 13, 20181KViews 0Likes 0Comments

Today, December 13, 2018, marks exactly 20 years since Burkinabe journalist, Norbert Zongo was killed, and in what has been welcomed as a major step forward in the long struggle to secure justice for the slain journalist, a court in France Courts has authorised the extradition to Burkina Faso of the prime suspect to face…

Journalist Assaulted, Forced to Drink Urine

Safety of JournalistsDec 4, 2018878Views 0Likes 0Comments

A Malian soldier and Secretary-General of the country’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (CVJR) has physically assaulted and forced a journalist to drink urine over the latter’s Facebook article questioning the impact of the Commission’s work. Hamidou Toure El Hadji, the Managing Editor of the online news organisation, malimedias.com, was on November 29, 2018 summoned…

MFWA Calls for Protection of Journalists Working in Online Spaces

Digital Rights, Safety of JournalistsDec 4, 2018816Views 0Likes 0Comments

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has called on governments in Africa to protect journalists who work online alongside those who work offline within the broader effort to promote the safety of journalists. The MFWA made the call during the Interregional Forum on Strengthening National Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms on Safety of Journalists in…

Author page: Kwaku Asante

Kwaku Asante