Ethiopia ranked the second-worst jailer of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, after Eritrea

Ethiopia continued to repress all independent reporting, and remained the second-worst jailer of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, after Eritrea Freedom house reported.

The report noted for the Journalists in East and Southern Africa suffered from a sharp increase in political pressure and violence in 2015.

In the midst of Burundi’s political crisis in May, which stemmed from the president’s pursuit of a third term, nearly all independent media outlets were closed or destroyed. The loss of these outlets, especially radio stations that had been the main source of information, resulted in a dearth of reporting on critical issues. Extensive intimidation and violence against journalists by the regime of President Pierre Nkurunziza and his supporters drove many into exile.

According to the report for East Africa, the run-up to early 2016 elections in Uganda featured an increase in harassment of journalists attempting to cover opposition politicians. In Kenya, greater government pressure in the form of repressive laws, intimidation, and threats to withdraw state advertising resulted in a reduction in critical reporting on President Uhuru Kenyatta and his cronies.

While on the other hand Tanzania passed two highly restrictive laws—the Statistics Act and the Cybercrimes Act—in 2015, and its newly elected president has given little indication that he will revise or repeal them. Finally, despite the release of 10 imprisoned journalists in 2015, Ethiopia continued to repress all independent reporting, and remained the second-worst jailer of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, after Eritrea.

Global press freedom declined to its lowest point in 12 years in 2015, as political, criminal, and terrorist forces sought to co-opt or silence the media in their broader struggle for power.

Source: freedomhouse.org