Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)

(MISA/IFEX) – On 10 November 1998, the office of the weekly newspaper, “MoAfrika”, was broken into. A senior reporter at the paper, Rabuka Chalatse, arrived at the office to begin the day’s work and found the doors and desk drawers wide open. The administrative secretary arrived shortly thereafter and discovered that money which had been […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 3 November 1998, Naleli Ntlamahad, regular columnist of the “Public Eye” newspaper, had his house attacked and broken into by soldiers belonging to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The soldiers entered Lesotho in September this year, ostensibly on a peace-keeping mission. **Updates IFEX alerts of 3 November and 1 October […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 21 October 1998, the Deputy Chairperson of Swaziland’s Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), Promise Msibi, called for restrictions on South African journalists covering events in Swaziland. The “Swazi Observer” reported Msibi calling on the government to take drastic steps against the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) for insulting the King in their elections […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Namibia’s Acting Permanent Secretary of Information and Broadcasting, Sankwasa James Sankwasa, has denied suspending a reporter from the “New Era” newspaper as recently reported. Sankwasa told MISA that the decision to suspend Fred Simasiku was taken by the newspaper’s editorial committee, which is made up of the editor and other key personnel at […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The independent press in Lesotho continues to suffer as a result of the crisis which engulfed the country in September 1998. However, they have not been cowered into silence and continue to publish despite many obstacles. **For background to the independent media’s recent troubles in Lesotho, see IFEX alerts of 13 October, 1 […]

(MISA/IFEX) – MISA is reporting that the Zimbabwean Minister of Information, Posts and Communications, Shen Shimutengwende, has instructed the entire board of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) to resign. The board, headed by Tafataona Mahosa, was appointed last year by the former Minister of Information for a three year term. In its 10 October 1998 […]

(MISA/IFEX) – According to MISA, on 12 October 1998, the editor of the “Namibian” newspaper, Gwen Lister, expressed concern that press freedom in Namibia could be stifled by overzealous supporters of the ruling South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO). Lister was speaking at a two-day conference marking 100 years of the press in Namibia. **For […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Namibia’s Acting Permanent Secretary of Information and Broadcasting, Sankwasa James Sankwasa, has suspended a reporter with the state-owned “New Era” newspaper, Fred Simasiku, because of a report which alleged that Sankwasa had been aware of a Caprivi secession plot. Simasiku, who is based at the Katima Mulilo offices of the newspaper, was suspended, […]