The record
Incidents: shutdowns and blocking in Africa
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.
All filters: country, dates, head of government, sort
Tanzania shuts down internet access on election day amid unrest
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 jo…
Shutdowns and blocking · Stage Silence · Head of government Samia Suluhu Hassan · Unknown
Ethiopia: internet and phone service cut across Tigray
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 happen…
Shutdowns and blocking · Stage Silence · Head of government Abiy Ahmed · Ongoing
South Africa bans television and photographic coverage of unrest under a state of emergency
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 journalist…
Shutdowns and blocking · Stage Silence · Head of government P. W. Botha · Reversed
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