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Togo Elections Pass Safety of Journalists’ Test, Fails That of Internet Rights

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Togo Elections Pass Safety of Journalists’ Test, Fails That of Internet Rights

On February 22, 2020, the Togolese went to the polls in a much-anticipated presidential election that eventually extended the mandate of incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe for another five years. According to the results of the Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), the candidate for the Union for the Republic (UNIR) party, Faure Gnassingbé, who has been in power since 2005, won more than 72% of the valid votes.

Contrary to fears of violence, especially in the event of protests against the eventual results, the polls and their aftermath have been largely peaceful. The incident-free media coverage of the electioneering campaign was replicated during and after the polls without any press freedom violations being reported.

However, as the polling stations closed and the counting began, several social media users began experiencing disruptions in connection. Several monitoring reports by Netblocks, an organisation that monitors and maps internet access around the world, indicated that social media networks such as Facebook and Messenger were inaccessible in several parts of the country beginning at 17:00 GMT. Twitter and WhatsApp were, however, partially accessible at the time, according to reports from MFWA’s correspondents in Togo.

Togo thus confirmed fears expressed by many, including the MFWA, ahead of the elections that the internet could be disrupted during the elections. These fears were fuelled by the precedent set in August 2017 when telephone communications and access to the internet and social networks were disrupted to subdue a demonstration to demand changes to Togo’s electoral laws. The fears were also as a result of a recent trend of election-related shutdowns in West Africa; Mauritania and Benin shut the internet during their presidential and legislative elections respectively last year.

Internet shutdowns have become the choice of repressive tool of autocratic regimes whenever their stewardship is tested either through protests, mass criticism or demands for accountability on social media or during elections.

Cutting off access to social media services at a critical time in social and political life, particularly during the presidential election, constitutes a violation of citizens’ freedom of expression and their right to information. This is all the more serious because people needed to connect, share ideas and participate in the political process, which they largely do through social media platforms. Such disruptions at moments like this are liable to create suspicions of ulterior motives on the part of the government, thus creating avoidable tensions and possible escalation into violence.

While we welcome the fact that no attacks against the media were recorded throughout the entire electoral process, the MFWA condemns the disruption of social media networks in Togo during the presidential elections as a violation of the digital rights of citizens. The disruption also violated citizens’ right to access information and their right to freedom of expression. We urge President Faure Gnassingbe to prioritise digital rights and freedom of expression and human rights generally.

Anxiety in The Gambia Heightens as Barrow Reneges on Press Freedom Promise

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Anxiety in The Gambia Heightens as Barrow Reneges on Press Freedom Promise

When Adama Barrow was inaugurated as president of The Gambia on February 18, 2017, it signalled a new dawn for its people after the 22-year rule of Yahya Jammeh, the former president with alleged ties to corrupt practices, including press freedom violations.

Tired of the constant human rights abuses, persecution of journalists, endemic malfeasance and a wobbly economy under Jammeh, the people of The Gambia finally spoke in 2016. This time, their voices were loud enough to loosen the grip of one of Africa’s longest serving presidents over the small country, ending what many described as a reign of terror.

The future of The Gambia rested with Barrow, 54, a businessman who once worked as a security guard  and came to power on the  back of an opposition coalition.

With promises to reform the constitution, protect the fundamental human rights of citizens, allow media pluralism and freedom of expression, among others, the country was set to tread a new path.

The Gambia During Better Times

After taking control of the country, Barrow began reforms which promoted press freedom. Journalists felt safe to practise. Many of them who were in exile came back home. Families of two journalists who were murdered under Jammeh  received compensation with MFWA’s intervention. 

The enjoyment of digital rights also received a major boost with a ruling by the country’s Supreme Court declaring as unconstitutional the law on False Publication on the Internet, among other repressive pieces of legislation, like defamation and aspects of Sedition.

For the first time, The Gambia climbed to the 92nd position on the 2019 World Press Freedom Index – a grand slam for a country which occupied the 145th position in 2016.

A Reversal of Rights

Three years down the line, what is supposed to be a new Gambia seems to be zilch, if recent events are anything to go by.

In a campaign communication which sold like hot cake with the electorate, Barrow had promised to serve for only three years as a transitional president on an agreement with the opposition coalition which backed him, according to media reports.

He had pledged to lay the legal and constitutional foundations for a sustainable democracy in The Gambia, then organise fresh elections. But Barrow now reckons the pledge in 2016 should not override the 5-year term mandated constitutionally for presidents.

This U-turn has given rise to the 3 years Jotna movement that is insisting that the government honours its pledge to leave office after January 2020.

Members of the movement organised a protest on January 26, 2020 where hundreds of Gambians came out to demand Barrow’s departure in line with the coalition’s campaign promise.  The government’s response was brutal, reminiscent of the Jammeh era repression.

Immediately after the protests started, the government issued a statement banning the 3 years Jotna group, which it described as “subversive, violent and an Illegal Movement that has all the attributes of a subversive group determined to illegally unseat the constitutionally elected Government.”

Shortly after the statement, a group of police officers stormed two radio stations, King FM and Home Digital FM, shut them down for “peddling incendiary messages” aimed at threatening the peace and security of The Gambia. In all, four journalists, two from each of the affected stations, were arrested and detained.

In a quick rebuttal however, Gambian Press Union, (GPU) strongly condemned the crackdown.

“The modus operandi of this government bears the hallmark of the tactics used by the former government in its disregard for press freedom and the rule of law,” the GPU said in a statement.

Later in an interview with DW, Sherrif Bojang, President of the GPU likened Barrow to “old wine in a new bottle.”

“The reforms that most Gambians were promised we haven’t seen much” Said Modou Lamin Joof, a Gambain journalist. “With his recent actions closing down radio stations, to some extent one might tend to agree with the common saying that people are returning to the days of Jammeh.”

Despite these setbacks, the media in The Gambia is determined to do their work as diligently and fearlessly as ever, and the press freedom fraternity including the MFWA, will accompany them every step of the way. For President Barrow, he needs to do better. He still has a lot to prove to his people and the rest of the world. He should not forget in his own words “Gambia has changed forever. The people are fully conscious that they can put government in office as well as remove it. No government will ever be able to entrench itself against the will of the Gambian people.”

Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament’s Threat to Bar Media from Covering Parliament Worrying

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Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament’s Threat to Bar Media from Covering Parliament Worrying

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) denounces the threat by Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, to ban journalists from covering  proceedings in the Parliament House, and calls on him to withdraw.

Prof. Oquaye issued the warning on February 26, 2020, after the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, complained that journalists had abandoned proceedings in the house the previous day to interact with the opposition Member of Parliament for Ellembele, and former Minister for Energy, Honourable Emmanuel Armah Buah.

The Member of Parliament stepped out when  the House was discussing the State of the Nation address delivered by the President, Nana Addo-Danka Akufo-Addo on 20th of February, 2020, which Opposition National Democratic Congress had boycotted, together with the subsequent debate on the President’s address.

“If that which is reported to have happened should happen again, I have reminded you of the fact that you are here as guests by my permission. Because of the importance this House attaches to the inking profession, any such humiliation will make you an unwelcome guest and your welcome will be duly withdrawn,” the Speaker warned.

The warning came after the Speaker had summoned and reprimanded the dean of the Parliamentary press corps over the conduct of the journalists.

The MFWA finds the Honourable Speaker’s assertion that it is by Parliament’s permission that the media covers the House as unfortunate. Parliament is a public institution that cannot bar the media from covering its ordinary plenary activities.

The suggestion that the journalists’ decision to leave the plenary in order to grant audience to the opposition MP or any other person constitutes a misconduct is equally disturbing and misplaced. It is important to emphasize that, the Speaker has not mentioned precisely what Standing Orders or conditions for the issuance of accreditation any journalist or media organisation has breached.

The media have a right to decide what and who to cover within the confines of the law. Parliamentary reporting is not exclusively about the proceedings in the Chamber. On the contrary, it includes interviews with individual Members of the House and any other activities and incidents on the premises of Parliament that the journalist considers to be of public interest. Ultimately, it is up to the editors to judge the relevance of the news material their journalists have collected during their assignment.

Chapter 12, Article 162 (1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana is unequivocal about the independent status of the Media when it states that “Freedom and independence of the media are hereby guaranteed.”

This law is inspired by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) which states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without any interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

Both the journalists and the former Minister of Energy were exercising this right when they decided to interact on the sidelines of the House’s debate on the State of the Nation address and any objection to that is an act of intolerance.

We wish to emphasise that the media is not covering Parliamentary activities at the pleasure of the leadership of the House, but as a Constitutional right and duty. We therefore call on the Speaker to withdraw the threat to bar the media and urge him to rather adopt a cordial approach to resolving any differences with the media.

Journalists Detained, Prevented from Reporting on Plight of Transporters

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Journalists Detained, Prevented from Reporting on Plight of Transporters

On February 22, 2020, Alpha Ousmane Bah and Kossa Sow, who work with the news website Africaguinee.com and Espace FM radio, respectively, had gone to the Guinea-Senegal border near Bhoundou Fourdou, in the prefecture of Koundara to report on the plight of road transporters stranded on Senegalese side as a result of a ban on overland importation of goods by the Guinean authorities.

Despite presenting valid mission orders, which entitles them to cross the border, the journalists were stopped by security agents at the Guinea side. The police later escorted them to the office of the Prefect of the territory for clearance. The Prefect however said it was not within his authority to sign the mission order, and kept the journalists waiting unduly. Frustrated at the long wait they were made to endure, the journalists decided to leave and proceed with their assignment, so they took commercial motor cycles back to the border , leaving their vehicle at the Prefect’s premises.

“When we got to Bhoundou Fourdou on the Guinea side of the border with Senegal, I introduced myself as a journalist. The officers said ‘you, you are not passing, we have been ordered to return you. They collected our documents and put us in a vehicle to drop us off at the central police station in Koundara’,” Alpha Sow narrated.

The two journalists were thus arrested for about three hours before being released with caution not to continue their mission.

This harassment of the journalists amounts to censorship and an attack on press freedom. We therefore urge the Guinean authorities to investigate the incident and bring the culprits to book. The authorities must also take steps to ensure that the rights of journalists covering the blockade are not abused.

Ghana Elections: MFWA Commends Minister for Committing to No-Insults Campaign

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Ghana Elections: MFWA Commends Minister for Committing to No-Insults Campaign

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) commends Ghana’s Upper East regional minister, Ms. Tangoba Abayage, for openly making a strong commitment to issues-focused campaigning in her bid to become the parliamentary candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Navrongo Central Constituency in the upcoming general elections.

Several verified media reports have quoted the minister as having admonished her supporters and party members to focus in issues and not insults.

“Today, I stand here to make a solemn pledge that not I or any of my team members will use any foul language against anybody. I’ve told them, if a single person in my team should do that then that very day that person is out. We have a message and we are sticking to that message. It is that message that will send us to parliament on the 7th of December, 2020” she warned her supporters and followers after filing her nomination on February 20, for the parliamentary candidature contest.

Earlier in January, Ms. Abayage’s main competitor and colleague Minister who is also the incumbent Member of Parliament for the constituency, Joseph Adda, accused her on local radio of not being politically active in the constituency but only goes there to drink beer.

According to journalists at the Bolgatanga-based A1 radio, where the incumbent made the disparaging comments against Ms. Abayage, the station had to issue a rejoinder after the incumbent had refused the station’s demand for him to retract the statement.

While many expected Ms. Abayage to do what appears to have become a norm by responding with similar disparaging comments against her contender, she rather responded by saying: “I don’t know what is special about Navrongo beer but I know what is special about Navrongo is the togetherness, the socialization, the camaraderie.”

The open commitment by the parliamentary aspirant to focus on issues and not insults in her campaigning, comes at a time when political discourse in the media and public sphere is characterised by the preponderance of abusive language, insults, provocative comments, ethnic bigotry and defamatory expressions, particularly against female politicians.

“The commitment by Ms. Abayage to run an issues-focused campaigning is a great example worthy of emulation by all aspirants and candidates in the upcoming December elections. We truly commend her for being an example of a decent politician. We hope that her example will inspire others, including Presidential candidates to also make a commitment to adhere to issues and not insults in the 2020 elections,” said Abigail Larbi, Programme Manager for Media and Good Governance at the MFWA.

The MFWA appeals to all aspirants, candidates and political communicators to endeavour to focus on issues-based campaigning ahead of the December elections in order to ensure voters are able to make their choices based on issues, and to contribute to making the upcoming elections peaceful.

Kindly contact Abigail Larbi on 0244867047 (email: abigail[@]mfwa.org) or the MFWA on 0302-553278 for more information.

Liberian Journalist Dead 3 Weeks after Assault by Presidential Guards

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Liberian Journalist Dead 3 Weeks after Assault by Presidential Guards

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is shocked to hear the news of the demise of Liberian journalist, Zenu Miller, and calls on the authorities to probe the circumstances of his death.

The broadcast journalist, who works with OK FM in Monrovia, was pronounced dead a few hours after he was rushed to the Elwa Hospital on February 15, 2020, following a sudden deterioration in his condition. He left behind a wife and a son.

Miller’s death comes exactly 21 days after he reported that officers of the Executive Protection Service (EPS), President Weah’s elite body guards, had attacked him at the Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Stadium.

“I was attacked tonight at the SKD by EPS officers in the full view of the EPS Director,” Miller posted on Facebook on January 26, 2020.

The attack compelled the talk show host to seek medical treatment for chest and body pains the following morning. He subsequently missed several days of work as he pursued treatment before finally resuming fully a week ago.

An official of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has confirmed that Miller made a verbal report of the assault to the Union. The official said the PUL wrote to the EPS to demand an investigation, adding that “We have been waiting on the EPS to respond to our communication.”

Malcolm Joseph, Executive Director of the Centre for Media Studies and Peacebuilding, MFWA’s partner organisation in Liberia, described Miller’s death as “a great loss to the Liberian media landscape.” He also called on the Government of Liberia to commission an autopsy to establish whether the journalist’s death is linked to the brutality allegedly meted out to him by the presidential guards.

The MFWA is also deeply saddened by Miller’s death and urges the Liberian authorities to establish the cause of the journalist’s death in order to end speculations and bring closure to the matter.

Month of Repression: Four Killed, Dozens Arrested and Radio Stations Shut

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Month of Repression: Four Killed, Dozens Arrested and Radio Stations Shut

Four fatalities have already been recorded in an alarming start to 2020, as Guinea and Nigeria began the year on the same repressive note as they ended 2019, while Gambia recorded violations that revive chilling memories of the Yahya Jammeh era crackdown on dissent.

Guinea

Two people were killed on January 13, one in Guinea’ capital, Conakry, and the other in the northern town of Labé, as the security forces and anti-government protesters continued their bloody confrontations.

Mamadou Sow, a 21-year-old high school student, was shot dead by security forces in Coza, in the Ratoma district of Conakry during the nation-wide demonstrations. The second victim, Amadou Diallo, also died from gunshot wounds after the security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators who were attacking a Court building in Labé.

Before the fatal crackdown, the police, on January 8, arrested Alpha Oumar Diallo, administrator of the online newspaper “Verite224.” Plain-clothed officers lured the journalists to a meeting and ended up forcing him into their car and driving him to their office in Conakry. Diallo was interrogated about an article he wrote about an influential politician, before being detained for two days.

Nigeria

The year also began on a gruesome note in Nigeria where two journalists were killed, one by security forces and the other by unknown abductors. Maxwell Nashan, a journalist with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Adamawa State was, on January 15, found tied and muzzled in a bush with his body hacked at several places. Nashan had been abducted from his house the previous day.

In the second incident, security forces who were battling Shiite Muslim protesters in Abuja on January 28, shot and killed Alex Ogbu, a journalist with the Regent Africa Times newspaper. Ogbu was passing by when he was hit by a bullet. Two other persons sustained gunshot wounds during the chaotic protests.

In what is turning out to be a disturbing trend at the polls, two journalists who were covering the rerun Senate elections in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, were assaulted and prevented from carrying out their work on January 25.

In the first instance, a mob claiming to be supporters of Godswill Akpabio, a Minister and candidate in the elections held on January 25, 2020, assaulted Godwin Sunday, a television cameraman with the Global Pilot and destroyed his camera.

In a separate incident, a journalist, Edidiong Udobia, was attacked by hooligans at another polling station.  The thugs held Udobia by his shirt and dragged him to their superior, Emmanuel Inyangettor, who ordered that the journalist’s phone be seized. The journalist had his phone returned to him after it had been scanned and found to contain no adverse content.

On January 30, a group of soldiers stormed the Borno State Secretariat of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Maiduguri and arrested Tunji Omirin, a journalist with the Daily Trust newspaper.  The military officers had twice gone to the Daily Trust office earlier that day in search of the journalist before tracing him to the NUJ secretariat. The soldiers handcuffed Omirin and took him away around 4:30 pm. (17:30 GMT)

The journalist was detained and interrogated for about three hours over a story he had written on the Boko Haram insurgency before being released with caution.

The Gambia

The Gambia revived chilling memories of the Yahya Jammeh dictatorship with the most brutal crackdown on dissent since the new government took office. The police on January 26 brutalised and arrested 137 anti-government demonstrators, arrested four journalists, assaulted another before closing down two media houses.

About a dozen police officers stormed the premises of Home Digital FM and ordered the managers to stop broadcasting. Accusing the radio station of inciting the demonstrators to violence, the security forces also arrested the proprietor and owner of the station, Pa Modou Bojang and another staff.

Another group of police officers invaded King FM and ordered all staff to evacuate the premises, before shutting down the station. The security officers also arrested two of the station’s manager’s Gibbi Jallow and Ebrima Jallow.

The authorities also revoked the accreditation of Al Jazeera reporter, Nicolas Hague, after accusing him of being biased towards the demonstrators who were demanding the resignation of President Adama Barrow in line with his campaign promise to limit his mandate to three years, as against the constitutionally guaranteed five years.

Liberia

In Liberia, the police used excessive force to disperse a crowd of over 3,000 people who gathered outside Monrovia’s Capitol Building on January 6, to protest what they term as deteriorating living conditions under President George Weah.

Dozens of people were taken to the hospital, after inhaling tear gas, or being injured in the melee as the protesters ran in different directions to escape the police violence. At least three people were also arrested by the police.

Still in Liberia, a presenter with the privately-owned Okay FM based in the Capital Monrovia reported having been assaulted by the Executive Protective Service (EPS), President George Weah’s elite security forces. The incident occurred during a a football match on January 26, 2020.

The attack on Miller came just two days after another journalist, Christopher Walker of the FrontPageAfrica online newspaper, was assaulted, also by security personnel, while he was also covering a football match on January 24, 2019. The journalist sustained injuries while his camera and laptop were damaged.

Mauritania

In Mauritania, the authorities arrested a blogger, Mohamed Ali Ould Abdel Aziz and journalists Abdou Ould Tajeddine and Cheikh Ould Mami on accusation of defaming the President.  Abdel Aziz was arrested on January 22, Tajeddine and Ould Mami on 26 in connection with their production and publication on social media of a video criticising President Mohamed Cheikh El Ghazouani and his government. The three were released on January 27. A government statement did not indicate the conditions of their release or the status of their cases.

In other developments, January 16 marked the first anniversary of the killing of investigative journalist, Ahmed Hussein Suale, and the MFWA, as part of activities to observe the day, wrote a letter to the Inspector General of the Ghana Police Service, John Oppong-Boanu, asking for updates on investigations into the incident.

The MFWA urged the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the investigations into Suale’s murder are carried out swiftly, expeditiously and to its logical conclusion, in line with the State’s obligation under the 1992 constitution to protect press freedom.

Ghana: Group of 250 Private Broadcasters Sues Government Over New Policy

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Ghana: Group of 250 Private Broadcasters Sues Government Over New Policy

The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), an association of about 250 private broadcasting service providers, has sued the government of Ghana and the National Communications Authority (NCA), the statutory electronic communications licensing body over introduction of Conditional Access System (CAS), which will make it impossible for consumers to access Free-to-Air television  content in Ghana.

In a writ filed at the Supreme Court of Ghana, GIBA  is seeking a number of reliefs including a declaration that the Conditional Access System (CAS) introduced as a mandatory requirement by the NCA by which media content of Free-to-Air broadcasters are blocked unless certain criteria have been met before the viewing public can access content, constitutes an unnecessary restraint on the establishment and operation of private media as enshrined in Article 162(3) of the Ghanaian Constitution.

The Braodcasters’ group wants the Supreme Court to further declare that the blockage of media content of Free-To-Air broadcasters through the use of the CAS introduced by the NCA, is unconstitutional as same constitutes an unreasonable and unnecessary abridgement of the freedom of the media guarantees contained in Article 21(a) and 162 (1) of the 1992 Constitution.

The Association is further seeking a declaration by the Supreme Court to the effect that the blockage of media content of Free-to-Air broadcasters through the use of CAS introduced by the NCA, contravenes the spirit and letter of Article 21(f) of the 1992 Constitution since same constitutes an unnecessary abridgement of the right to information guaranteed under the Constitution.

GIBA is thus, asking an order by the Supreme Court directed at the NCA to remove from the minimum requirement for receiving digital terrestrial and satellite television services, any system that encrypts or blocks the content of Free-to-Air television channels in Ghana.

For some time now, GIBA and the Ministry of Communications have engaged on Ghana’s digital migration process, which requires broadcast service providers to switch from analogue to digital broadcast, in line with the Geneva 2006 Agreement of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

According to GIBA, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) eventually set the relevant standards taking into account the outcomes of various stakeholder engagements. The group of broadcasters aver that the NCA, without recourse to the GSA, subsequently introduced and published new a “Conditional Access” arrangement by which the programmes or content of Free-to-Air television stations shall be subject to the payment of Digital Access Fees.

Under the new arrangement, the NCA assumes the right to block or encrypt broadcast signals of users who fail to pay their subscriptions

GIBA argued that as owners of broadcast contents, they reserve the right to decide whether or not to convert their service programmes into a Pay TV service and asks the Supreme Court to prevent the NCA and the oversight Ministry from interfering with this right.

MFWA Condemns Military Arrest of Journalist over Boko Haram Reports

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MFWA Condemns Military Arrest of Journalist over Boko Haram Reports

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns the arrest and interrogation of Daily Trust reporter Tunji Omirin by the military over a story on the Boko Haram insurgency.

A group of soldiers stormed the Borno State Secretariat of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Maiduguri on January 30, 2020 and arrested the journalist.  The military officers had twice gone to the regional office of Daily Trust in Maiduguri earlier that day in search of the journalist before tracing him to the NUJ secretariat. The soldiers handcuffed Omirin and took him away around 4:30 pm.

The journalist was detained and interrogated for about three hours before being released with caution.

“Yes, Omirin is back at home with his family and he is hale and hearty,” Malam Naziru Mikailu, Editor-in-Chief of Daily Trust confirmed in a story published by the online version of the paper. “He was questioned by the military over a story he authored concerning activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.”

This is the second time in a year that journalists of Daily Trust have been harassed by the army for reporting on their anti-terror operations.

The Daily Trust’s regional editor, Uthman Abubakar and a reporter, Ibrahim Sawab, were whisked away after a combined team of soldiers and Department of State Services (DSS) operatives stormed the newspaper’s office in Maiduguri on January 6, 2019. Soldiers also raided the news organisation’s headquarters in Abuja and its office in Lagos on that day.

While the MFWA welcomes the release of Omirin, we strongly condemn his arrest in the first place as it was a gross violation of his human rights and his right as a journalist. To invade the premises of the journalists’ union and arrest a journalist as if he was a criminal is unacceptable and the military leadership must call the officers involved to order.

Vacancies: MFWA Is Recruiting Media Monitors

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Vacancies: MFWA Is Recruiting Media Monitors

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is recruiting Media Monitors for its project related to the 2020 general elections in Ghana. This includes the monitoring and reporting of indecent expressions in election campaigns, in addition to monitoring and reporting of ethical violations in the media. The projects are aimed at contributing to enhancing professional reporting in the media, issues-based campaigning and factual information to citizens.

The monitoring exercise will focus on selected newspapers, websites and radio stations across the country. The ideal media monitor must have a good knowledge of the media environment, research and data gathering/analysis, and the governance system of Ghana.

Responsibilities 

Recruited monitors will be assigned to media houses and required to:

  • Monitor content in assigned media houses
  • Submit daily reports to the MFWA.

Qualifications

Qualified applicants must:

  • Have at least a degree in media studies, communication, political science, social science or a related field.
  • Be able to fluently speak and write English and at least one local language.
  • Have a relevant experience in data gathering, media monitoring or research-related projects.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and CV to recruitments[@]mfwa.org using the subject: “Application  – Media Monitor” as the subject of your email.  

Deadline

Applications must be received by close of day on Friday, February 14, 2020. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. The monitoring exercise is expected to be carried out between February through December 2020.

 

 

Nigeria Must End Excessive Use of Force against Protesters, Investigate Death of Journalist

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Nigeria Must End Excessive Use of Force against Protesters, Investigate Death of Journalist

Nigerian authorities must investigate the death of Alex Ogbu, who was killed during a police crackdown on Shiite Muslim protesters in Abuja on January 28, 2019.

Ogbu, a journalist with the Regent Africa Times newspaper, was not covering the protest but was rather passing by when he was hit by a bullet at the Berger area of Abuja where the protest was being staged. Two other persons sustained gunshot wounds during the chaotic protests.

After the incident, the police initially claimed in a statement (which failed to identify the victim as Alex Ogbu), that the victim “hit his head on a stone while running during the protest and died in the process.” However, a spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police, Anjuguri Manzal, later admitted that their men shot a ‘passerby’ and promised that the incident would be investigated.

The management of Regent Africa Times said that its legal team has been briefed on the incident and would soon come out with their reaction.

The death of Alex Ogbu comes barely two weeks after the killing of Maxwell Nashan, a journalist with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in Adamawa State. Nashan was abducted from his house and later found tied and muzzled in a bush with his body hacked at several places.

In the last two years, there have been seven reported murders of journalists in Nigeria. Out of this number, none has been adequately investigated to apprehend the killers, much less prosecute them. The other five include Precious Owolabi of Channels Television, who was shot dead while covering a demonstration on July 22, 2019; Famous Giobaro, a desk editor with Glory FM in Bayelsa State; Lawrence Okojie of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in Edo State; Ikechukwu Onubogu, a cameraman with the Anambra Broadcasting Services and Abdul Ganiyu Lawal, a freelance broadcaster in Ekiti State, all of whom were shot and killed by unknown gunmen in 2017.

This culture of impunity hardly encourages effective journalism practice as it is liable to induce widespread self-censorship. The MFWA therefore urges the authorities in Nigeria to conduct effective and expeditious investigations into the killing of Ogbu and the other cases in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Gambian Authorities Must End Repression against Protesters, Release Detained Journalists and Reopen Radio Stations

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Gambian Authorities Must End Repression against Protesters, Release Detained Journalists and Reopen Radio Stations

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns the recent crackdown in The Gambia and calls on the Gambian government to cease the attacks  on anti-government protesters, release journalists and protesters who have been arrested and allow the two radio stations that have been shut down to resume broadcasting.

The police on January 26, 2020, brutalised and arrested 137 anti-government demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Adama Barrow in line with his campaign promise to limit his mandate to three years. The demonstration that started peacefully became violent when protesters and police clashed leading to injuries. Some police officers and protesters also physically attacked journalists who were covering the protests. One of the journalists attacked was identified as Sankulleh Janko, a reporter for Dakar-based West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR. He was beaten with sticks and his equipment and phone seized.

After arresting the protesters, about a dozen police officers stormed the premises of Home Digital FM and ordered the managers to stop broadcasting. They also arrested the proprietor and owner of the station, Pa Modou Bojang.

A similar number of police officers invaded King FM and ordered all staff to evacuate the premises, before shutting down the station. The security officers also arrested two of the station’s manager’s Gibbi Jallow and Ebrima Jallow. The authorities accused the two stations of making themselves platforms for inciting violence and threatening the security of The Gambia.

While Home Digital FM was indeed covering the demonstrations and subsequent crackdown, the Management of King FM has denied having covered the events, a denial corroborated by several sources.

The authorities also revoked the accreditation of Al Jazeera reporter, Nicolas Hague, after accusing him of being biased towards the opposition.

The government later announced a ban on the “3 Years Jotna (is up) Movement”, the group that has spearheaded weeks of protests calling for Barrow to step down.

Although The Gambia’s Constitution stipulates a five-year presidential term, the political coalition that backed Adama Barrow in the 2016 elections had promised to limit its term to three years during which it would lay the foundations for a durable democracy.

The government appears to have failed not only to keep its three-year transitional government promise, but also to deliver on the legal and constitutional reforms to establish a credible democratic culture after the 22 years of Yahya Jammeh dictatorship.  The MFWA finds the crackdown on protesters, arrests of journalists, shutdown of the radio stations and subsequent ban of the pressure group by the government as very troubling.

The MFWA is even more alarmed at the government’s statement that “any person, radio station, business or group that chooses to do business with Operation 3-Years Jotna and or promote their agenda will be in violation of this pronouncement and will face severe consequences.” We wish to remind the government that the media have a constitutional mandate to inform the public on certain issues particularly issues of public interest, and so the government cannot ban them from carrying out this duty. It is therefore unlawful for the government to threaten that the media or any group that shares information about the pressure group will face severe consequences.

The MFWA  is therefore calling on The Gambian authorities to release all the detained demonstrators and journalists as well as allow the radio stations that have been shut down to resume broadcasting. The government should refrain from any acts of censorship of the media and recognise the important role the Gambian media play in the consolidation of democracy in the country. We further urge the government to respect the citizens’ right to peaceful assembly as guaranteed by Section 25(d) of the Gambian 1997 Constitution.

We further  entreat Gambians particularly members of the “3 Years Jotna Movement” to exercise their freedom of assembly rights peacefully and within the laws of The Gambia.

The MFWA also urges the state security agents and state officials to put a stop to attacks, arrests and intimidation of people, activists, pressure groups etc for the exercising their freedom of expression rights both offline and online.

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