Incidents: licensing and closure of outlets in Africa, national level

Each incident is a dated action by a government, an official, a regulator, a court or a legislature that limited journalists' ability to gather or publish news.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

5 incidents match this view.

Date	Incident	Country	Tactic	Head of government	Outcome
September 3, 2025	Ethiopia arrests at least six journalists including Sheger FM staff over election-year coverage	Ethiopia (RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180)	Detention and violence	Abiy Ahmed	Ongoing (September 22, 2025)
March 16, 2018	Tanzania requires bloggers and online publishers to register and pay an annual government fee	Tanzania (RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	John Magufuli	Unknown (April 12, 2018)
March 15, 2002	Zimbabwe enacts a law requiring all journalists and media houses to hold government licenses	Zimbabwe (RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180)	Licensing and closure of outlets	Robert Mugabe	Unknown
May 24, 1960	Egypt's Nasser government nationalizes every newspaper and magazine in the country	Egypt (RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180)	Funding and ownership pressure	Gamal Abdel Nasser	Ongoing (January 1, 1989)
March 17, 1950	South Africa's Suppression of Communism Act lets the government ban publications and restrict individuals	South Africa (RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180)	Prior restraint	Daniel François Malan	Reversed (February 2, 1990)

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