West African Journalists Association (WAJA)

On World Radio Day, members of the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) send an audio message calling on governments in the region to ensure that radio operates freely and independently.

Tensions continue to rise after the government cracks down on dissent following its decision to introduce the use of French language in courts and schools in English-speaking regions.

Tensions continue to rise after the government cracks down on dissent following its decision to introduce the use of French language in courts and schools in English-speaking regions.

On 15 November 2016, a group of armed men in military uniforms stormed the residence of Marcel Lubala Kalala and killed him. Journaliste en Danger has called on the provincial and judicial authorities to expeditiously investigate the matter.

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) joins the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) to strongly condemn the arbitrary closure of Eye Radio station by the South Sudan National Security Service (NSS).

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) has petitioned President Salva Kiir over the closure of the country’s leading private paper, The Nation Mirror. In September, the National Security Service ordered the indefinite closure of The Nation Mirror without any explanation.

Reporter Abdiasis Mohammed Ali was shot on 27 September 2016, on his way to visit his uncle in Mogadishu. Ali had worked with Radio Shabelle for more than seven years and was arrested on several occasions by the police and the National Intelligence and Security Agency in connection with his work as a journalist.

On 14 September 2016, five Internet users were arraigned before a Tanzanian Court on charges of insulting President John Magufuli on social media.

Live bullets rained down on protestors gathered to repudiate the postponement of DRC elections. Government officials report 32 deaths, but opposition tally tells a much grimmer story.

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) held its 4th Annual General Meeting in Grahamstown, South Africa, on 31 August 2016. The AGM was preceded by a two-day capacity building workshop on Digital Rights Advocacy, as a follow up to a similar workshop held in Ghana in January 2016.

Following an outcry by the local and international community, including a statement issued by the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), Alfred Taban was granted bail on 29 July 2016.

On July 16, 2016, agents of the National Security Service arrested Alfred Taban, Editor-in-Chief of Juba Monitor, an independent English language daily newspaper in South Sudan. The security service accused the journalist of inciting violence, and consequently shutdown the Juba Monitor on the same day.

The peculiar case of a radio worker in secret detention in the Congo who is accused of both spying for Rwanda and aiming to destabilize Burundi.

Civil society groups ask ECOSOC to reconsider granting valued press freedom group and IFEX member, The Committee to Protect Journalists, consultative status at the UN.

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) is deeply concerned about the continued wave of attacks on freedom of expression in Sudan. Some of these violations include the arbitrary arrest of journalists and media professionals, confiscation of publications, and the suspension of media houses.

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) demands Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services to immediately release the eight students who have been detained incommunicado since May 2016, following a protest at the University of Khartoum.