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
