CPJ Africa - Committee to Protect Journalists

08/18/2026

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Le CPJ appelle les autorités de la République démocratique du Congo à rétablir les services de télécommunications mobiles et d’Internet, qui sont coupés depuis plus d’un mois dans le territoire de Fizi, qui comprend la ville de Baraka, dans la province du Sud-Kivu, à l’est du pays.

« La coupure de l’accès à Internet, aux SMS et aux appels téléphoniques porte atteinte au droit à l’information et aux libertés de communication garantis par la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme ainsi que par l’article 24 de la Constitution de la RDC », a déclaré Angela Quintal, directrice Afrique du CPJ.

En savoir plus ⬇️

Kinshasa, August 17, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to restore mobile telecommunications and internet services that have been cut off for more than a month in the Fizi Territory, which includes the city of Baraka, in the easte...

08/16/2026

Seven years ago, journalist Samuel Wazizi died in Cameroon’s custody.
Join CPJ in demanding answers.


Read more: https://cpj.org/data/people/samuel-wazizi/

08/14/2026

BREAKING NEWS:
News just in. George Atabong Lekeaka has been released, according to his lawyer Emmanuel Nkea.

🇨🇲 CPJ calls on authorities to release George Atabong Lekeaka, who has been held incommunicado since Monday for publishing a photo of security officers on patrol during clashes with separatist fighters on the page All-About-Cameroon.

“Serious gunfire exchange between the military and the ‘boyses’ at mile 18 Buea, please stay home and stay safe,” the post said, using a nickname for the separatists.

“George Atabong Lekeaka should not have been arrested for attempting to provide the public with security information, let alone secretly detained without access to a lawyer or his family, in violation of his rights,” said Moussa Ngom, CPJ’s Francophone Africa representative. “Cameroonian authorities should immediately disclose Lekeaka’s whereabouts, release him, and refrain from targeting journalists for covering the Anglophone crisis.”

Read more: https://cpj.org/2026/08/cameroon-journalist-held-incommunicado-for-photo-of-anglophone-unrest/

08/14/2026

🇿🇲 CPJ condemns the August 13 assault of Zambia News and Information Service (ZANIS) photojournalist Levy Mwale by supporters of Brian Mundubile, presidential candidate under the Tonse Alliance grouping of opposition parties, who was voting at Olympia Secondary School polling centre in the capital Lusaka.

Mwale told CPJ that he was shoved, slapped and ordered to stop filming. A medical report, reviewed by CPJ, showed he was treated at Chipata Level One Hospital for cuts to his lips and bodily pain.

At the same polling station, Mundubile’s security team also harassed Real Times journalist Linda Nyondo and deleted footage of their leader’s arrival from her mobile phone, Nyondo told CPJ.

CPJ also denounces electoral commission officials’ harassment of Zambezi FM journalist Edna Mupila at a Livingstone polling station after she filmed their late arrival.

CPJ urges Zambian authorities to investigate these incidents and ensure journalists can work safely and without intimidation as the country waits for results to be announced.

Tonse Alliance spokesperson George Chisanga and ECZ spokesperson Patricia Luhanga did not respond to CPJ’s messages and calls for comment.

📸Journalists Levy Mwale (R) and Edna Mupila (L) (Photos Supplied)

08/13/2026

🇪🇹 CPJ calls on Ethiopian authorities to immediately release five journalists who have been in detention for three years awaiting trial, instead of pressuring them to admit to, and apologize for, taking part in a deadly insurgency in exchange for their freedom.

Gobeze Sisay, Meskerem Abera, Genet Asmamaw, Dawit Begashaw, and Abay Zewdu have refused to write such apology letters, which they regard as “self-incriminating,” their lawyer, Solomon Gezahagn, told CPJ. The five were detained in 2023 on terrorism charges in connection with their reporting on unrest in the Amhara region.

“After keeping these five journalists behind bars for years and delaying their trials, Ethiopian authorities are now trying to blackmail them into confessing to crimes that they have already denied in court,” said CPJ's Muthoki Mumo.

Read more: https://cpj.org/2026/08/in-ethiopia-5-journalists-pressured-to-apologize-for-terrorism-to-win-release/

08/13/2026

🇬🇦 Le CPJ appelle les autorités gabonaises à rétablir le média en ligne privé Info241, suspendu jusqu’à nouvel ordre par le régulateur des médias pour avoir relayé les accusations formulées par un influenceur à l’encontre du président gabonais Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema et de son entourage.

« Décider de fermer un média qui existe depuis 13 ans relève davantage de la censure que de la régulation et prive le public gabonais d’une source majeure d’informations », a déclaré Moussa Ngom , représentant du CPJ pour l’Afrique francophone. « Les autorités gabonaises doivent lever la suspension indéfinie d’Info241 et permettre au média de reprendre ses activités. »

L’activiste Lanlaire formule des accusations à l'encontre du président du Gabon dans une vidéo YouTube. (Capture d'écran : Landry Lanlaire/YouTube)

En savoir plus : https://cpj.org/2026/08/gabons-online-news-outlet-info241-suspended-for-publishing-allegations-about-president/

08/12/2026

🇿🇲Are you a journalist reporting on Thursday’s elections?

Read CPJ’s Election Safety Kit on how to prepare for elections and how to mitigate digital, physical, and psychological risk. It covers a range of topics including working in hostile communities, preparing for a communications blackout, and managing trauma, trauma-related stress, and PTSD.

If you work as an editor or in the field, take preemptive action to protect yourself and your team ahead of election-related assignments.

Read more: https://cpj.org/journalist-safety-elections/

08/11/2026

🇿🇲 The Committee to Protect Journalists joined Coalition partners in urging Zambian authorities and telecommunication providers to ensure free and open internet access before, during, and after Thursday's election.

The government has said it will not deliberately restrict the internet during this year’s polls and that it was unable to establish the cause of the 2021 shutdown.

Read more: https://cpj.org/?p=607537

08/10/2026

🇪🇹 Three years ago, on August 10, Amara Media Center journalist Abay Zewdu was arrested in a sweeping crackdown on reporting about conflict in the Amhara region. He remains behind bars on terrorism charges that carry a potential death sentence.

Although Abay has spent three years in prison, the court has yet to decide whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence for his case to proceed. Hearings are due to resume on October 16, following the court’s August-to-October recess, his lawyers told CPJ.

Abay’s continued detention, along with four other journalists also accused of terrorism — Genet Asmamaw, Meskerem Abera, Dawit Begashaw, and Gobeze Sisay — underscores the risks facing independent media in Ethiopia and the criminalization of reporting on matters of public interest.

CPJ calls for Abay’s immediate release and for Ethiopian authorities to stop criminalizing journalism.

Read more: https://cpj.org/data/people/abay-zewdu/

08/07/2026

🇨🇩 🇺🇬 Le Comité pour la protection des journalistes appelle les autorités ougandaises à garantir la sécurité du journaliste congolais en exil John Zihindula Bwirabwanda, dont le domicile en Ouganda a été cambriolé par des hommes armés qui l'ont menacé de mort pour avoir publié des informations sur les réseaux sociaux.

Les hommes ont déclaré à Zihindula : « Nous ne sommes pas venus pour l'argent, mais pour te tuer — et sache que nous reviendrons. »

« Il est choquant que le journaliste congolais John Zihindula Bwirabwanda n’ait pas pu échapper aux violentes répercussions de son travail de reportage sur la guerre, malgré sa fuite de son pays natal pour vivre en exil à des centaines de kilomètres de là, en Ouganda », a déclaré Angela Quintal, directrice du programme Afrique du CPJ.

En savoir plus:
https://cpj.org/2026/08/armed-men-threaten-rob-exiled-drc-journalist-in-uganda/