Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)

(MISA/IFEX) – On Thursday 6 July 2000, journalist Pushpa Jamieson was threatened by about five heavily armed Police Mobile Force (PMF) members while covering the aftermath of Malawi’s thirty-sixth independence anniversary at the Civil Service Stadium in Lilongwe. Jamieson had photographed the aftermath of clashes between riot police and hundreds of people who could not […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 24 June 2000, in the evening, four armed men kidnapped the editor-in-chief of Radio Ecclesia, Jose Paulo. Paulo was snatched in Luanda’s city centre and driven out of the city limits. However, the kidnappers’ car got stuck in a bush track, enabling Paulo to escape while being shot at. Radio Ecclesia has […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 6 July 2000, the “Post”, Zambia’s leading independent daily newspaper, failed to appear on the streets for the second day running due to a critical failure of the newspaper’s ageing web-offset printing machine. The paper’s editor-in-chief, Fred M’membe, has since accused the state-owned “Zambia Daily Mail” printers of snubbing his request to […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 5 July 2000, the board of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) announced a number of sweeping changes to the top management of the corporation, arguing that the move was in line with new cost saving mechanisms. However, speculation is rife that the board’s decision was politically motivated, particularly its decision to demote […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunications has announced the introduction of fees for accreditation of journalists and film processing. The accreditation fees are Z$150 (US$4) for local journalists and US$100 for foreign journalists. The fee structure came into effect on 1 July 2000. Fees for processing documentaries will be US$500. Clearance for […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 20 June 2000, four journalists were briefly detained by Botswana police while covering activities marking Africa Refugee Day at the Dukwi refugee camp. However, Botswana authorities denied the allegation. South African journalist Diale Kgantsi, who reports for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), confirmed to MISA that he, camera operator Pat Pule, […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 26 June 2000, a group of people went to the house of “Chronicle” newspaper reporter Don Kulapani and demanded to see the journalist, who was not present at the time. The group of four people, who, according to the “Chronicle”, were believed to be members of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Namibian President Sam Nujoma intends to sue the weekly “Windhoek Observer” newspaper for reporting that he owns a diamond mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The “Namibian” newspaper reports that the president has instructed government lawyers to institute legal action over the article and photographs that appeared in the 3 June […]