{ "title": "Incidents in Africa", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=africa", "filters": { "continent": "africa" }, "sort": "date", "count": 19, "page": 1, "pages": 1, "per_page": 50, "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.", "facets": { "country": [ { "value": "EG", "label": "Egypt", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 169, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "ER", "label": "Eritrea", "rsf": null }, { "value": "ET", "label": "Ethiopia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 148, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "MA", "label": "Morocco", "rsf": null }, { "value": "NG", "label": "Nigeria", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 112, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 112th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "ZA", "label": "South Africa", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 21, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "TZ", "label": "Tanzania", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 117, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "TN", "label": "Tunisia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 137, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 137th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "ZW", "label": "Zimbabwe", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 124, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } } ], "continent": [ { "value": "africa", "label": "Africa" } ], "tactic": [ { "value": "detention_and_violence", "label": "Detention and violence", "count": 6 }, { "value": "outlet_licensing", "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets", "count": 6 }, { "value": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "label": "Shutdowns and blocking", "count": 3 }, { "value": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "label": "Secrets and espionage laws", "count": 3 }, { "value": "access_ban", "label": "Access bans", "count": 2 }, { "value": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "label": "Insult and defamation laws", "count": 2 }, { "value": "prior_restraint", "label": "Prior restraint", "count": 2 }, { "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "label": "Funding and ownership pressure", "count": 2 }, { "value": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "label": "Expulsion and visa denial", "count": 1 }, { "value": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "label": "Surveillance and subpoenas", "count": 1 }, { "value": "disinformation_labeling", "label": "Official labels", "count": 1 }, { "value": "credential_control", "label": "Credential control", "count": 1 } ], "stage": [ { "value": "pressure", "label": "Pressure", "count": 4 }, { "value": "punish", "label": "Punish", "count": 7 }, { "value": "silence", "label": "Silence", "count": 6 }, { "value": "eliminate", "label": "Eliminate", "count": 2 } ], "level": [ { "value": "national", "label": "National", "count": 18 }, { "value": "state_or_province", "label": "State or province", "count": 1 } ], "outcome": [ { "value": "reversed", "label": "Reversed", "count": 6 }, { "value": "ongoing", "label": "Ongoing", "count": 5 }, { "value": "unknown", "label": "Unknown", "count": 4 }, { "value": "sustained", "label": "Sustained", "count": 3 }, { "value": "upheld", "label": "Upheld by a court", "count": 1 } ], "leader": [ { "value": "abdel-fattah-el-sisi", "label": "Abdel Fattah el-Sisi" }, { "value": "abiy-ahmed", "label": "Abiy Ahmed" }, { "value": "adly-mansour", "label": "Adly Mansour" }, { "value": "daniel-francois-malan", "label": "Daniel François Malan" }, { "value": "emmerson-mnangagwa", "label": "Emmerson Mnangagwa" }, { "value": "gamal-abdel-nasser", "label": "Gamal Abdel Nasser" }, { "value": "isaias-afwerki", "label": "Isaias Afwerki" }, { "value": "john-magufuli", "label": "John Magufuli" }, { "value": "kais-saied", "label": "Kais Saied" }, { "value": "p-w-botha", "label": "P. W. Botha" }, { "value": "robert-mugabe", "label": "Robert Mugabe" }, { "value": "saadeddine-othmani", "label": "Saadeddine Othmani" }, { "value": "samia-suluhu-hassan", "label": "Samia Suluhu Hassan" }, { "value": "sani-abacha", "label": "Sani Abacha" } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 7 }, { "value": "2010s", "label": "2010s", "count": 4 }, { "value": "2000s", "label": "2000s", "count": 4 }, { "value": "1990s", "label": "1990s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1980s", "label": "1980s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1960s", "label": "1960s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1950s", "label": "1950s", "count": 1 } ], "year": [ { "value": "1950", "label": "1950", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1960", "label": "1960", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1985", "label": "1985", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1995", "label": "1995", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2001", "label": "2001", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2002", "label": "2002", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2003", "label": "2003", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2005", "label": "2005", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2013", "label": "2013", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2018", "label": "2018", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2019", "label": "2019", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2020", "label": "2020", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2022", "label": "2022", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2025", "label": "2025", "count": 3 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 19 } ] }, "results": [ { "slug": "2025-tanzania-internet-shutdown-election-day", "title": "Tanzania shuts down internet access on election day amid unrest", "occurred_on": "2025-10-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TZ", "country_name": "Tanzania", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "TZ", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "samia-suluhu-hassan", "leader_name": "Samia Suluhu Hassan", "issue_of_the_day": "The shutdown coincided with a disputed general election and protests against President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government, which Human Rights Watch later said was followed by killings and broader restrictions once the results were announced.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "Authorities did not explain the shutdown, and disruptions to social platforms continued for several days after the vote.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 117, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Tanzania's government restricted internet and social-media access on October 29, 2025, as citizens voted in a general election marked by protests, cutting national internet traffic by nearly 90 percent and leaving both local and foreign journalists unable to report on the vote and its aftermath in real time.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-tanzania-internet-shutdown-election-day" }, { "slug": "2025-ethiopia-arrests-journalists-sheger-fm", "title": "Ethiopia arrests at least six journalists including Sheger FM staff over election-year coverage", "occurred_on": "2025-09-03", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ET", "country_name": "Ethiopia", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ET", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "abiy-ahmed", "leader_name": "Abiy Ahmed", "issue_of_the_day": "The arrests came ahead of Ethiopia's national elections scheduled for 2026, after the Ethiopian Media Authority ordered Sheger FM to remove an August 29, 2025 broadcast it said was one-sided and incited violence.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2025-09-22", "outcome_note": "Some journalists were granted bail while an appeal proceeded; the media authority's order against Sheger FM remained in force.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 148, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Ethiopian authorities arrested at least six journalists between August and September 2025, including three from Sheger FM after the Ethiopian Media Authority ordered the station to delete a broadcast it accused of bias and inciting violence, ahead of national elections scheduled for 2026.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-ethiopia-arrests-journalists-sheger-fm" }, { "slug": "2025-tunisia-record-journalists-jailed-decree-54", "title": "Tunisia's cybercrime decree pushes jailed-journalist count to highest since 1992", "occurred_on": "2025-01-16", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TN", "country_name": "Tunisia", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "TN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "kais-saied", "leader_name": "Kais Saied", "issue_of_the_day": "Decree-Law 54, issued by President Kais Saied in 2022 without a sitting parliament, criminalized spreading what authorities deem \"false news\" online, and by January 2025 had become the basis for jailing a record number of Tunisian journalists.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "Decree-Law 54 remained in force and continued to produce new prosecutions, which CPJ said brought jailed-journalist numbers to a record.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 137, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 137th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The Committee to Protect Journalists found at least four journalists imprisoned under Tunisia's 2022 Decree-Law 54 on cybercrime as of January 2025, including radio hosts Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies, pushing the country's jailed-journalist count to its highest since 1992 under President Kais Saied.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-tunisia-record-journalists-jailed-decree-54" }, { "slug": "2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact", "title": "Zimbabwe's Patriotic Act criminalizes journalists' contact with foreign governments", "occurred_on": "2023-07-14", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZW", "country_name": "Zimbabwe", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZW", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "emmerson-mnangagwa", "leader_name": "Emmerson Mnangagwa", "issue_of_the_day": "The bill passed weeks before Zimbabwe's August 2023 general election, at a time when the government accused foreign-linked civil-society and media figures of working to undermine it ahead of the vote.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2023-07-14", "outcome_note": "President Mnangagwa signed the bill into law despite CPJ's call for a veto; a court challenge by journalists did not block it.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 124, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Patriotic Act, which criminalizes meeting foreign governments or officials with intent to harm Zimbabwe's sovereignty, with penalties up to death for advocating armed intervention and up to ten years for supporting sanctions, weeks before the country's 2023 general election.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact" }, { "slug": "2022-ethiopia-expels-tom-gardner", "title": "Ethiopia: Economist correspondent Tom Gardner expelled", "occurred_on": "2022-05-13", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ET", "country_name": "Ethiopia", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ET", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "tactics": [ "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": "abiy-ahmed", "leader_name": "Abiy Ahmed", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-05-13", "outcome_note": "The expulsion was carried out and was not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "Ethiopia gave a foreign correspondent 48 hours to leave over unspecified conduct, the second such expulsion in a year; the White House ban restricted access to the briefing room, not to the country itself.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 148, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Ethiopia's media regulator revoked The Economist correspondent Tom Gardner's press accreditation and gave him 48 hours to leave the country, citing unspecified conduct, almost a year after expelling a New York Times reporter.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-ethiopia-expels-tom-gardner" }, { "slug": "2020-ethiopia-tigray-internet-blackout", "title": "Ethiopia: internet and phone service cut across Tigray", "occurred_on": "2020-11-04", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "ET", "country_name": "Ethiopia", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ET", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "abiy-ahmed", "leader_name": "Abiy Ahmed", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2021-05-03", "outcome_note": "As of the May 2021 source, service had been only partially restored in the regional capital and surrounding areas.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "Ethiopia cut internet and phone service to an entire region for months during a civil war, leaving reporters unable to confirm events without traveling there in person; no United States action in the record has cut off a region's communications.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 148, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Ethiopia's government cut internet and telephone service across the Tigray region when war broke out there in November 2020, leaving the region without communication for months and forcing reporters to travel there to learn what was happening.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-ethiopia-tigray-internet-blackout" }, { "slug": "2020-morocco-omar-radi-pegasus-and-detention", "title": "Morocco: investigative journalist Omar Radi's phone is infected with Pegasus spyware and he is later detained", "occurred_on": "2020-07-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "MA", "country_name": "Morocco", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "MA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "saadeddine-othmani", "leader_name": "Saadeddine Othmani", "issue_of_the_day": "Radi worked as an investigative journalist for the Moroccan outlet Le Desk and had faced a prior court conviction and government-aligned media allegations before the spyware finding.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-07-01", "outcome_note": "Radi was released in July 2024 as part of a mass royal pardon, though he said his legal status left him unable to work as an accredited journalist afterward.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "A journalist's private communications were covertly extracted despite his taking precautions against hacking, then published by pro-government media and used against him in court.", "rsf": null, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Amnesty International confirmed Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi's phone had been infected with Pegasus spyware, and Moroccan police separately detained him overnight days later after private material from his devices circulated in pro-government media.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-morocco-omar-radi-pegasus-and-detention" }, { "slug": "2019-egypt-media-law-blocks-al-mashhad", "title": "Egypt: media law used to fine and block news site al-Mashhad", "occurred_on": "2019-03-22", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "EG", "country_name": "Egypt", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "EG", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling" ], "leader_slug": "abdel-fattah-el-sisi", "leader_name": "Abdel Fattah el-Sisi", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": "2019-05-07", "outcome_note": "Al-Mashhad's website was still inaccessible in Egypt as of May 7, 2019, the last date given in the source reviewed.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "Egyptian law classifies any social media account over five thousand followers as a media outlet subject to state fines and blocking, and Egypt used it to fine and block a news site for weeks; no United States \"fake news\" designation can fine or block an outlet.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 169, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Under a 2018 law that treats any social media account with more than 5,000 followers as a media outlet, Egypt's media regulator fined news site al-Mashhad and ordered internet providers to block it for spreading what it called false news.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-egypt-media-law-blocks-al-mashhad" }, { "slug": "2018-egypt-scmr-license-requirement-al-manassa", "title": "Egypt: a license requirement leaves an independent news site unable to operate legally for years", "occurred_on": "2018-10-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "EG", "country_name": "Egypt", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "EG", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "abdel-fattah-el-sisi", "leader_name": "Abdel Fattah el-Sisi", "issue_of_the_day": "The licensing requirement operated alongside a 2018 cybercrime law that made it a crime to use certain software tools without the council's permission, according to Al-Manassa's editor.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2020-10-26", "outcome_note": "Al-Manassa's editor said the outlet's 2018 license application had received no response as of the October 2020 interview.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "A national council required a license before a news site could operate at all and left the application unanswered for years rather than approving, denying or fining it.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 169, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation required news websites to obtain a government license to operate, and independent outlet Al-Manassa's application, filed in 2018, went unanswered for more than two years.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-egypt-scmr-license-requirement-al-manassa" }, { "slug": "2018-tanzania-online-content-regulations", "title": "Tanzania requires bloggers and online publishers to register and pay an annual government fee", "occurred_on": "2018-03-16", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TZ", "country_name": "Tanzania", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "TZ", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "john-magufuli", "leader_name": "John Magufuli", "issue_of_the_day": "A broader push under President Magufuli's government to regulate online speech and civic activity ahead of Tanzania's 2020 general election cycle.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": "2018-04-12", "outcome_note": "A court granted media and rights groups an injunction against the fee in April 2018 while their challenge proceeded; the sources reviewed do not establish the challenge's final outcome.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 117, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Tanzania's government, under President John Magufuli, issued regulations requiring anyone running a blog or website with user content to register with the telecoms regulator and pay an annual fee reported at roughly $930, with vaguely worded content bans.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-tanzania-online-content-regulations" }, { "slug": "2013-egypt-al-jazeera-journalists-jailed", "title": "Egypt arrests and later convicts three Al Jazeera journalists on terrorism-related charges", "occurred_on": "2013-12-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "EG", "country_name": "Egypt", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "EG", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "adly-mansour", "leader_name": "Adly Mansour", "issue_of_the_day": "The Egyptian military's July 2013 removal of President Mohamed Morsi and the government's subsequent designation of his Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2015-09-23", "outcome_note": "President Sisi pardoned Fahmy and Mohamed on September 23, 2015; Greste had already been deported to Australia in February 2015 under a prisoner-transfer arrangement.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 169, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Months after the military removed President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian security forces arrested Al Jazeera English journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed at a Cairo hotel; courts later convicted them of aiding a banned organization, and international pressure led to pardons.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-egypt-al-jazeera-journalists-jailed" }, { "slug": "2005-zimbabwe-court-refuses-daily-news-accreditation", "title": "Zimbabwe: the High Court refuses to accredit Daily News journalists under the media registration law", "occurred_on": "2005-05-12", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZW", "country_name": "Zimbabwe", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZW", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "credential_control" ], "leader_slug": "robert-mugabe", "leader_name": "Robert Mugabe", "issue_of_the_day": "The Daily News, Zimbabwe's largest independent newspaper, had been closed since September 2003 after the Supreme Court found it unregistered under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), a 2002 law requiring every media outlet and journalist to register with the government.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "2005-05-12", "outcome_note": "The High Court upheld the requirement that the publisher be registered before its journalists could be accredited; the paper was not relicensed until 2010.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "Journalists at a named newspaper were denied the individual credential needed to work at all, conditioned on a separate corporate registration the government withheld for years.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 124, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2000s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Zimbabwe's High Court ruled that Daily News journalists could not be accredited to work as reporters until their newspaper's publisher had itself been registered with the government's Media and Information Commission.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2005-zimbabwe-court-refuses-daily-news-accreditation" }, { "slug": "2003-zimbabwe-daily-news-shut-down", "title": "Zimbabwe: police close the Daily News under the media registration law", "occurred_on": "2003-09-12", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZW", "country_name": "Zimbabwe", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZW", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "robert-mugabe", "leader_name": "Robert Mugabe", "issue_of_the_day": "The closure came amid a wider campaign by President Robert Mugabe's government against independent media following the contested 2002 presidential election.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2010-05-27", "outcome_note": "Zimbabwe's Media Commission granted the Daily News a new publishing license on May 27, 2010, nearly seven years after the closure.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "The country's largest independent newspaper was shut by police and kept off newsstands for nearly seven years, not a temporary suspension or fine.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 124, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2000s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Zimbabwe's Supreme Court ruled the Daily News, the country's largest independent newspaper, was operating unregistered under a 2002 media law, and police shut its offices the next day; the paper stayed closed for nearly seven years.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2003-zimbabwe-daily-news-shut-down" }, { "slug": "2002-zimbabwe-aippa-media-licensing", "title": "Zimbabwe enacts a law requiring all journalists and media houses to hold government licenses", "occurred_on": "2002-03-15", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZW", "country_name": "Zimbabwe", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZW", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "robert-mugabe", "leader_name": "Robert Mugabe", "issue_of_the_day": "Zimbabwe's contested March 2002 presidential election, in which President Mugabe faced international criticism over the vote's conduct.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The record reviewed documents a 2007 amendment easing individual accreditation but does not establish to day precision when AIPPA's licensing framework was repealed.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 124, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2000s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Zimbabwe's parliament passed the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), requiring every journalist and media company to obtain a government license renewed every two years, weeks before a closely contested 2002 presidential election.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2002-zimbabwe-aippa-media-licensing" }, { "slug": "2001-eritrea-jails-journalists-indefinitely", "title": "Eritrea: independent press closed and journalists jailed without trial", "occurred_on": "2001-09-18", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ER", "country_name": "Eritrea", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ER", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "isaias-afwerki", "leader_name": "Isaias Afwerki", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "As of the 2010 source reviewed, none of the journalists detained in 2001 had been charged, tried or publicly accounted for.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Eritrea jailed at least nineteen journalists without charge, trial or public acknowledgment of their fate after suspending its constitution, and has not accounted for several of them in over two decades; no United States detention in the record has approached that duration.", "rsf": null, "era": "2000s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Eritrea's government closed every private newspaper and jailed at least nineteen journalists, including Dawit Isaac of the paper Setit, without charge or trial in September 2001, after suspending the constitution. Several have never been publicly accounted for since.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2001-eritrea-jails-journalists-indefinitely" }, { "slug": "1995-nigeria-abacha-journalists-tribunal", "title": "Nigeria's military government convicts journalists by special tribunal over coup-plot reporting", "occurred_on": "1995-07-27", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "NG", "country_name": "Nigeria", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "NG", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "sani-abacha", "leader_name": "Sani Abacha", "issue_of_the_day": "An alleged March 1995 coup plot against General Sani Abacha's military government, which the journalists had reported on.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1998-06-15", "outcome_note": "The journalists were released in stages after General Abacha's death in June 1998 under his successor's government; their convictions were not vacated in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 112, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 112th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1990s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A special military tribunal convicted four Nigerian journalists as accessories to a supposed 1995 coup plot after they reported on it, sentencing them to lengthy prison terms with no right of appeal, under the military government of General Sani Abacha.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1995-nigeria-abacha-journalists-tribunal" }, { "slug": "1985-south-africa-state-of-emergency-media-ban", "title": "South Africa bans television and photographic coverage of unrest under a state of emergency", "occurred_on": "1985-11-02", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZA", "country_name": "South Africa", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "p-w-botha", "leader_name": "P. W. Botha", "issue_of_the_day": "Unrest against apartheid had spread through South Africa's Black townships through 1985, and the government's emergency regulations applied to the television and photographic coverage that had brought international attention to the violence.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1990-06-01", "outcome_note": "South Africa's state of emergency and its media restrictions ended in June 1990 as State President F. W. de Klerk began dismantling apartheid.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 21, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Under a state of emergency State President P. W. Botha had declared in July 1985, the government banned television, radio and photographic coverage of unrest in South Africa's Black townships on November 2, 1985, requiring print journalists to report only under police escort.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1985-south-africa-state-of-emergency-media-ban" }, { "slug": "1960-egypt-nasser-nationalizes-press", "title": "Egypt's Nasser government nationalizes every newspaper and magazine in the country", "occurred_on": "1960-05-24", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "EG", "country_name": "Egypt", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "EG", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "gamal-abdel-nasser", "leader_name": "Gamal Abdel Nasser", "issue_of_the_day": "Nasser's government was consolidating state control over Egypt's economy and institutions in the years following the 1952 revolution, and extended that control to the press as an instrument of its nationalist program.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "1989-01-01", "outcome_note": "State ownership structures created by the 1960 decree, including the government-appointed leadership of major papers such as Al-Ahram, remained in place through the 1980s.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 169, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1960s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "President Gamal Abdel Nasser's government issued a decree on May 24, 1960 placing every newspaper and magazine in Egypt under state ownership and management, with the government appointing editors and deciding content, ending private control of the country's press.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1960-egypt-nasser-nationalizes-press" }, { "slug": "1950-south-africa-suppression-of-communism-act", "title": "South Africa's Suppression of Communism Act lets the government ban publications and restrict individuals", "occurred_on": "1950-07-17", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZA", "country_name": "South Africa", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "daniel-francois-malan", "leader_name": "Daniel François Malan", "issue_of_the_day": "South Africa's National Party government, elected in 1948 on a platform of apartheid racial segregation, used the act to suppress the Communist Party of South Africa and, more broadly, organized political opposition to its policies.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1991-07-31", "outcome_note": "The \"Internal Security and Intimidation Amendment Act\" repealed section 55 of the Suppression of Communism Act, which had prohibited furthering the aims of communism, on July 31, 1991; broader banning orders under the act and its successors had already been lifted the year before, in February 1990.{c:731}", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 21, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1950s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Under Prime Minister Daniel François Malan, South Africa's parliament approved the Suppression of Communism Act in 1950, defining communism broadly enough to cover most opposition to apartheid. It let the government ban organizations and publications and forbid banned individuals from being quoted at all.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1950-south-africa-suppression-of-communism-act" } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=africa&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.json?continent=africa", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.md?continent=africa" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }