journalist - The African Mirror

Jul

2022

A journalist breaks the silence on fibroids

ATIENO ODERA, BIRD STORY AGENCY LYING on the hospital bed surrounded by family members and medics, Fatma Mohammed, 36, was trying to recall what had happened to her and how she had ended up there – and most importantly, what had triggered the sudden turn in her once-vibrant health. This was not the first time she had suffered from a sudden dizzy spell and lost consciousness, however. The difference was that this was the first in a public space. It was highly traumatising. She wanted answers. Though doctors had previously diagnosed her as suffering from uterine fibroids, they had yet…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Tunisia releases journalist arrested for criticizing police

NEWS

A Tunisian court freed a journalist who had been detained after she criticised police and the interior minister, her lawyer and the journalists' union said. The arrest of Charahzed Akacha on Thursday caused widespread anger and was widely seen by activists and journalists as a setback to freedom of expression since President Kais Saied seized executive power last summer. "Akacha was released," her lawyer Samir Dilou said. The news was confirmed by an official at the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, Amira Mohamed. The union said Akacha's arrest on Thursday was due to a Facebook post in which she criticised…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Police beat journalist, fire tear gas during Congo election protest

MEDIA FREEDOM

POLICE beat a journalist and fired tear gas to disperse a small crowd in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa during an opposition protest over alleged election meddling, eyewitnesses said. Around 20 protesters gathered in response to a call by opposition leader Martin Fayulu and were met with stiff resistance from police. Police beat and temporarily detained Patient Ligodi, a journalist working for Radio France International, while he was interviewing Fayulu. "They threw me to the ground and started to hit me," Ligodi said in a video shared on social media. Video shot by broadcaster France 24 showed Ligodi being…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Official Secrets Act: UK government has a long history of suppressing journalism to hide its misdeeds

MEDIA FREEDOM

THE UK government recently put out for consultation proposals for toughening the Official Secrets Act, ostensibly to deter foreign spies. PAUL LASHMAR, Reader in Journalism, City, University of London Many lawyers, lawmakers and journalists have argued that laws concerning official data and secrets are in need of updating to fit a world where espionage and leaks are largely conducted through new technology. But a close reading of the new proposals suggests the agenda is as much to deter journalists, whistleblowers and sources from embarrassing government and intelligence agencies. The words “journalist” and “journalism” appear nowhere in the main text, and…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Botswana police use Israeli Cellebrite Tech to search another journalist’s phone

MEDIA FREEDOM

JONATHAN ROZEN TSAONE Basimanebotlhe was not expecting security agents to appear at her home in a village outside Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, in July 2019, she told CPJ in a recent interview. But they didn’t come to arrest or charge her, she recalled – they came for her devices, hunting for the source for an article published by her employer, Mmegi newspaper. Basimanebotlhe, a politics reporter, said she surrendered her phone and password to the agents after they presented a warrant and could not find her computer. A senior officer then used technology sold by the Israel-based company Cellebrite to extract and analyze thousands of…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Tributes to legendary African football expert

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE African sports world is mourning the loss of one of its great, Cudjoe Amankwaa, who has passed on suddenly. Amankwaa, who was born in Ghana and lived in South Africa, was widely respected as a journalist and a football analyst. His colleagues have paid warm and glowing tributes to Amankwaa, who, in his career worked for, among others, The Sowetan, the South African Broadcasting Corporation and Supersport. Carol Tshabalala, a Supersport journalist and presenter, said it was an honour to work with Amankwaa. “Your enthusiasm for the African game, kindness, and positive spirit will forever be…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Prison was horrible but I will still do my work’

NEWS

INTERNATIONAL correspondent Jeffrey Moyo, who was a released from detention today after being arrested for breaching Zimbabwe’s Immigration Act by helping two foreign journalists work in the country, says press freedom is undermined when journalists cannot work undeterred. “I feel relieved as it was so horrible inside for 21 days without my freedom,” Moyo told IPS upon his release from Bulawayo Prison today, Jun. 16. “The detention is a complete infringement of press freedom in Zimbabwe.” Moyo (37), a correspondent for Inter Press Service (IPS), the New York Times and other media, was arrested in Harare on May 26 and detained…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

In Abiy’s Ethiopia, press freedom flourished then fear returned

MEDIA FREEDOM

MAGGIE FICK WHEN Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took over in 2018 and freed dozens of jailed members of the media as part of a raft of political reforms, journalist Dessu Dulla rushed home from the Netherlands. The 45-year-old, now a deputy editor at a local online news outlet, said he had fled repression in 2004. He initially savoured new freedoms under Abiy, who won global plaudits including the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize which noted his work on "discontinuing media censorship." Three years on, Dessu and four other Ethiopian journalists interviewed by Reuters say they once again fear a knock…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Solly was an incredible human being who left behind a special something in every life she touched

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOVIAL RANTAO SOLANI Maphumulo arrived in the City of Gold as a rough diamond - seemingly unpolished at a cursory glance but nonetheless a priceless gem inside. From get go, Solly, as we fondly called her, exuded the humility of a lamb, the determination of a tiger and the bravery of a lion - all to fulfil her dream of becoming a journalist at one of the country’s leading newspapers - The Star. And nothing was going to come between Solly and her dream. Years later, as we now write her story, we know that nothing did. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Diplomat and ex-journalist Qwelane dies

NEWS

AFRICA MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH Africa’s governing party, the ANC, has led tributes for Jon Qwelane, a diplomat and former journalist who has passed on Qwelane, former editor Tribute magazine and ex-deputy editor of the Sunday Star, famous columns and former talk show host on Radio 702, left journalism for the world of politics and diplomacy. He was South Africa’s ambassador to Uganda in 2010. Later he was taken to court in South Africa for his homophobic comments. The Supreme Court of Appeal later overturned his conviction for hate speech. The ANC said Qwelane served SA with distinction and unwavering commitment.…