Articles by Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Newspaper source arrested
An intelligence officer working for President Frederick Chiluba has been arrested and charged with providing a newspaper with information, the government-owned “Daily Times” reported on 27 June 1995. According to the “Daily Times”, Weston Haundu, an “intelligence officer” working from State House, appeared in court on 26 June, accused of “conveying information to unauthorised people” […]
Community radio station silenced
At 1:00pm on June 21 1995, a team of police accompanied by Eric Lefebvre, a technician with the Conseil Superieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA, the government body responsible for broadcast regulation in France), and Mr. Boulet of the Comite Technique Radiophonique in Marseille (CTR, responsible for technical aspects of broadcasting in the region), burst into Radio […]
Security chief says it is a journalist’s “patriotic duty” to provide information to national intelligence agency
It is the “patriotic duty” of everyone — journalists included — to “share” information with the Namibian Security Intelligence Agency (NSIA), the President’s Special Advisor on National Security, Peter Tshirumbu, has told media workers. Tshirumbu on 21 June 1995 gave what newspapers say was his first press conference since Namibian independence in 1990 to respond […]
Two journalists charged under colonial legislation
**Updates IFEX CH alert dated 20 June 1995** Two senior journalists, detained on 19 June 1995 in connection with a story alleging that Zambian President Frederick Chiluba had a Zairean mistress, were released on police bail following a court appearance on 20 June. Fred M’membe, Managing Director of “The Post” newspaper, and the paper’s Editor-in-Chief, […]
Journalists detained and bail denied; government to table legislation on regulating media
Two senior Zambian journalists have been detained two days after the country’s President, Frederick Chiluba, said his government would not interfere with press freedom. Managing director of “The Post” newspaper Fred M’membe and the paper’s editor-in-chief, Masautso Phiri, were arrested on 19 June 1995 in connection with a story the Zambian bi-weekly published stating that […]
Trial date set for “Financial Gazette” newspaper executives
**Updates IFEX alert dated 16 May 1995** The publisher and two editors of the weekly “Financial Gazette” are to stand trial on charges of criminal defamation on 5 July 1995. The charges relate to an article published by the newspaper in which it was alleged that President Robert Mugabe had married his secretary, Grace Marufu, […]
State interference at “autonomous” public broadcaster
Staff at the parastatal Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) fear official interference in the corporation’s editorial policy is set to increase following an incident last Thursday 8 June 1995 when a government official entered the NBC newsroom and “ordered” that unedited footage of a presidential press conference be played in full on the evening television news, […]
Four senior members of two newspapers charged
Four senior members of Swaziland’s two daily newspapers, “Times of Swaziland” Director Paul Loffler and Editor Mashumi Twala, and “Swazi Observer” Managing Director Jeremiah Gule and Managing Editor Cyril Dhlamini, have been released on bail of R1000 each after being charged with contravening the Books and Newspapers Act for publishing and printing their respective newspapers […]