Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)

(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, […]

(MISA/IFEX) – According to MISA, on 7 October 1998 the Minister of Communications, ‘Nyane Mphafi, instructed state-employed journalists who “were seen at opposition demonstrations” to write letters of resignation or face summary dismissal. Journalists were called to a meeting by the minister, who informed them that there was a black list of those who took […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The Deputy Minister for Communications and Transport, Maua Daftari, has threatened to take the “Guardian” newspaper to court unless it recants an allegedly defamatory story about her which was published in its 28 September 1998 edition. The independent daily newspaper “The African” reported on 10 October that Daftari’s lawyers, the Tanzania Legal Corporation […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) has dumped its popular daily morning Press Review programme for the second time in eight months. The programme, broadcast every weekday morning after the 7 a.m. newscast, reviewed the major stories from the various daily newspapers in Namibia. According to sources quoted in the “Namibian” newspaper, the chances […]

(MISA/IFEX) – According to MISA, most of the independent newspapers in Lesotho have suffered heavy losses following the political turmoil which gripped the country earlier this month. Newspapers were affected by property destruction, looting and/or theft in the capital city, Maseru. Two weekly newspapers, “The Southern Star” and “MoAfrika”, suffered the worst losses when, after […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The Tanzanian chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-TAN) on 16 September 1998 lodged a petition in the High Court to challenge the legality of some provisions in the Broadcasting Services Act No. 6 of 1993. The application was lodged by three top office bearers of MISA-TAN: Joseph Masanilo, the Chairperson […]