FXI Update - February/March 1996

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION DIARY - FEBRUARY/MARCH 1996

• A journalist from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Fawzia Moodley, is assaulted during a demonstration by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu/Natal. The IFP leader in the KwaZulu/Natal South Coast, James Zulu, is alleged to be responsible for the assault. He apparently kicks a microphone out of Moodley’s hand as she tries to record an argument between Zulu and senior police officers. Zulu also reportedly insults other journalists at the scene.
• The Post newspaper in Zambia reports that President Frederick Chiluba has ordered police to arrest the paper’s editors and charge them with criminal libel for their stories about the President’s parentage, place of birth and alleged forgery of a school certificate. The report comes as tension builds between the Post and the Zambian authorities following a recommendation last year by the Constitutional Review Commission that anyone born outside Zambia should not be allowed to stand for President (see article in this issue).
• Tanzanian authorities drop charges of sedition and withholding information against the former editor and publishers of the Kiswahili-language newspaper, Majira. The then-editor of Majira, Sam Makila, and the paper’s publishers, Rashidi Mbuguni and Richard Nyaulawa, were detained on February 22, 1995 before being charged in terms of the National Security Act. The police wanted Makila to reveal the source of a story Majira published three days previously exposing plans by the cash-strapped government to spend US$130 million on radar equipment. The court drops the charges because of a lack of evidence by the state.

FEBRUARY 4

• The SABC relaunches itself at a gala ceremony in Pretoria. The aim of the relaunch is ostensibly to break with the past image of the corporation as the propaganda wing of the government and to portray itself as a “true public broadcaster”. The relaunch is heavily criticised from certain sectors because of the costs and the advertorial involvement of the South African Airways, while some in the Afrikaans speaking community lashes out at the SABC for reducing the amount of Afrikaans on-air time.
• The leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party on the KwaZulu/Natal South Coast, James Zulu, is involved in an altercation with journalists for the second time in as many days. According to reports, Zulu allegedly threatens journalists during an IFP demonstration in Port Shepstone.

FEBRUARY 5

• The Zambian government declares today’s edition of the independent newspaper The Post a prohibited publication. The announcement is made at a State House press briefing, to which The Post was invited, in terms of section 53 of the Zambian Penal Code. It is the first time since Zambia’s independence that a local newspaper is banned. The edition exposes a secret plan to hold a referendum on the Constitution and hold local elections without adequate notice to the opposition parties. At the same time, police search the offices of the newspaper and confiscate documents relating to the story. ( See article in this issue)

FEBRUARY 6

• Zambian police arrest the editor-in-chief of The Post newspaper, Fred M’membe, the managing editor, Bright Mwape, and the editor, Masautso Piri. The three are formally charged under the “Official Secrets Act” and “Possession of Prohibited Publications Act”. The state claims that the three received classified information on the constitution which they illegally published in the previous day’s edition of their newspaper in violation of the “Official Secrets Act”. The second charge is based on possession of prohibited material, referring to the previous day’s edition of The Post, which was banned by President Frederick Chiluba. They are refused bail.
• The Media Workers Association of South Africa (MWASA) calls on the Inkatha Freedom party to take disciplinary action against one of its members, James Zulu, after being involved in two incidents with journalists over the past few days. MWASA also calls on Zulu to apologise to the journalists involved in the incident.
• Joe Theron, the managing director of JT Publishing, which publishes the South African girly magazine Hustler, is arrested in London and charged by the British Customs and Excise Department with the importation of indecent or obscene material. He is released on bail on the same day. His arrest follows the seizure last week by British authorities of pornographic material imported from South Africa.

FEBRUARY 7

• The editor-in-chief of Zambia’s Post newspaper, Fred M’membe, and his two colleagues, Bright Mwape and Masautso Piri, are granted bail after being arrested the previous day and charged with contravening the “Official Secrets Act” and of being in possession of a banned publication, namely their own newspaper.
• The Inkatha Freedom Party apologises for the behaviour of one of its top officials on the KwaZulu/Natal south coast, James Zulu. Zulu assaulted two journalists during an IFP demonstration in the area the previous week. In a statement, the IFP says it is unacceptable for an IFP leader to manhandle or threaten journalists. The statement adds that Zulu will submit his own letter of apology to the two journalists involved.
• The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) says it will issue six private radio broadcasting licences in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The issuing of private licences has been under strong criticism from potential commercial broadcasters because of the IBA’s delay in the issuing of these licences. Last year the IBA issued over 80 community broadcast licences but has tried to stave off the rush for commercial use of the airwaves up till now. Protests around the IBA’s conduct with regard to commercial broadcasters reached fever pitch last year when the IBA recommended to Parliament that a number of the SABC's existing regional stations should be sold off for commercial purposes.

FEBRUARY 9

• The Newspaper Press Union of South Africa releases the findings of a study it conducted last year on the potential threat posed to newspapers in the face of exploding media options, and particularly from television. The study finds that newspapers remain robust and that the original threat posed by television has stabilised. It says that “...while television and radio may give the most up-to-date news, newspapers provide the best information about what happens in local communities”. Another interesting observation by the study is that responses from the 16 to 24 age group indicate that an “ad-literate” and critical younger generation is emerging. They reportedly disbelieve television a great deal and mock or rework messages contained in advertising. Familiarity with television appears to have bred some contempt for its credibility.
• The National Party (NP) distances itself from the United Nations Art Against Apartheid exhibition, which opened in Parliament the previous day. The exhibition replaces the paintings and busts of colonial and apartheid-era personalities and will remain for six months. In a statement, the NP says that some of the works in the exhibition are “blasphemous and shamelessly pornographic”.
• In Ghana, the editor of the Ghanian Chronicle, Nana Kofi Coomson, is arrested and interrogated by the police. Coomson is accused of publishing false information because of an article that appeared on the 1st of February in which it was alleged that President Jerry Rawlings was implicated in a drug trafficking case involving a Ghanaian diplomat. Coomson is released on bail and ordered to report to the police on February 12. At the same time, police arrive at the home of Eben Quarcoo, editor of the weekly The Free Press, apparently also to arrest him, but he is not at home at the time. Quarcoo is believed to be accused of the same offence as Coomson.

FEBRUARY 12

• The editor-in-chief of the Ghanaian Chronicle, Nana Kofi Coomson along with the editor and publisher of the Free Press, Eben Quarcoo and Tommy Thompson, report to police headquarters following an order in this regard. They are charged with “publishing false news with the intent of injuring the reputation of the State” and are released on bail after interrogation. The charges stem from an article which appeared in both newspapers and which was a reprint of a story published in the New York-based bi-weekly The African Observer. In the article it was reported that Ghanaian diplomat Frank Benneh, of the Ghanaian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, had been arrested in Switzerland for selling drugs. The article further alleged that the government of President Jerry Rawlings had used proceeds from illegal drug sales to buy arms.

FEBRUARY 13

• A report in Johannesburg’s Star newspaper says that magazines displaying nudity are experiencing a major slump. Charl Pretorius, editor of Hustler magazine, South Africa’s top-selling skin magazine, says that sales were as high as 195 000 copies last year, but that this has since dropped to 100 000. Most other skin magazines have also experienced a slump in sales.

FEBRUARY 14

• The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications decides that the SABC should retain its third channel in order to satisfy its public broadcasting mandate. This is contrary to a recommendation by the Independent Broadcasting Authority last year that the SABC should sell its third channel. The portfolio committee says further that while the SABC will retain its third channel, a new private channel will be licensed by July next year. Soon after this a second private channel will be phased in.
• In Ghana, Nana Kofi Coomson, Eben Quarcoo and Tommy Thompson are remanded in custody until February 22 after being released on bail on February 12. The move comes after a circuit court judge revoked their bail without explanation.
• In Ethiopia, Kumsa Buraya, a journalist for the now defunct Oromo language weekly Meda Walabu, is abducted by an armed group and taken to an unknown destination. No further details are available.

FEBRUARY 15

• • African National Congress (ANC) MP Carl Niehaus lashes out at a number of organisations and sections of the media, saying they are deliberately attempting to undermine the legitimacy or profile of Parliament because of deep-seated racism. Niehaus makes his statement at an ANC caucus briefing. It is in reaction to the results of a public survey recently conducted by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA). The survey found that two-thirds of the South African public believed there was no lessening of corruption in government compared with the old regime, while 41 percent of people believed it had become worse. Niehaus says that while the ANC does not question IDASA’s right to conduct such surveys, it is the party’s view that the pattern of these surveys “do not help build and consolidate our fledgling democracy”.

FEBRUARY 17

• The managing director of the Caxton printing and publishing group says the company will launch a Supreme Court action to enforce its right to buy the magazines and free newspaper interests of Times Media Ltd (TML). Ninety percent of TML is owned by Omni Media, formerly known as Argus Holdings. Last year a Full Bench of the Appeal Court upheld a restraint agreement between Caxton and Argus, prohibiting Argus from operating magazines and free newspapers. Caxton is now claiming the right to buy any magazines published by Omni companies. Among the titles in dispute are the Financial Times magazine and the Business Day newspaper. The row erupted following moves by Omni to sell 40 percent of these two titles to the Financial Times of London.
• In Egypt, Mahmud El-Tohami, editor of the weekly Rose Al-Yussef , is sentenced to one year in prison for an article which accused a businessman of illegal drug trading. Gamal Tayei, the journalist who wrote the story and who was released by police, maintains that his piece was based on police reports. El-Tohami has appealed against the verdict and remains free. He was charged in terms of a law against slander that was passed in May 1995. The law provides for prison terms of up to 15 years for defamation and so far three other journalists have been convicted under this law.

FEBRUARY 20

• Another round of oral hearings on the proposed Films and Publications Bill (see Update November/December 1995) opens in Cape Town. At the opening of the hearings today, anti-
• pornography groups illustrate their submissions with explicit pictures, including slides from various local pornographic magazines.

FEBRUARY 21

• • The speaker of the Zambian parliament, Robinson Nabulyato, finds three journalists guilty of contempt of parliament. The three affected by the ruling are Fred M’membe, editor-in-chief of The Post newspaper, managing editor Bright Mwape and columnist Lucy Banda Sichone. The three are ordered to appear before the Standing Order Committee on February 23 for sentencing. (See article in this issue)

FEBRUARY 22

• In The Gambia, independent journalist Boubacar Sankanu is detained by the intelligence service. No charges are served against him and it is not clear where he is being held. Sankanu was a contributor to The Point, a local newspaper, as well as the Voice of America and the British Broadcasting Corporation.
• In Mali, publishing director Tiengoum Boubeye Maiga and editor-in-chief Aboubacar Saliph Diarra, of Les Echos newspaper are convicted of defamation against Oumar Mariko, former Secretary General of the Malian Students Association. The journalists are sentenced to one-month prison terms and ordered to pay damages to the plaintiff amounting to US$1 970. Mariko had originally sued for US$39 408. The case was based on an article published in August last year questioning the use of funds that Mariko had received from a German humanitarian association.

FEBRUARY 23

• • Three journalist from The Post newspaper in Zambia go into hiding and fail to appear before parliament’s Standing Orders Committee. The three - Fred M’membe, Bright Mwape and Lucy Sichone - were ordered to appear before the committee for sentencing after being found guilty on February 21 of contempt of parliament. (See article in this issue)
• • In Ghana, journalists Nana Kofi Coomson of The Ghanaian Chronicle, Eben Quarcoo of The Free Press and Tommy Thompson, publisher of The Free Press, are unconditionally released on bail. The three were charged on February 12 with “publishing false news with intent of injuring the reputation of the State” and were arrested on February 14. Their case is adjourned indefinitely.

FEBRUARY 26

• In Sierra Leone, Paul Kamara, the managing editor of the independent weekly newspaper For Di People and the country’s Minister of Land and Housing, is shot in the leg by soldiers. The soldiers open fire on Kamara’s car as he is driving away from the newspaper’s printing house. As the vehicle comes to a halt, he is pulled from his car by the soldiers and then shot. Kamara manages to drag himself to the printing house where he attracts the attention of employees who are hiding inside. The employees transport him to a nearby Military hospital where he undergoes surgery for a fractured thigh bone. The attack occurs at the same time that the military announces a curfew on Sierra Leone radio.

FEBRUARY 27

• • The speaker of Zambia’s parliament, Robinson Nabulyato, issues an order for the arrest and indefinite detention of Fred M’membe, Bright Mwape and Lucy Sichone - all of The Post newspaper - after they failed to appear before parliament’s Standing Orders Committee on February 23 for sentencing on charges of contempt of parliament. The order from the Speaker states that the three are to be held in custody indefinitely until they publicly apologise for breach of Parliament, or until a member of Parliament motions for their discharge. (See article in this issue )

FEBRUARY 28

• Sandoo Moore, publisher of Liberia’s weekly The National, and his colleague, Kortu Kerbah are summoned to the offices of the Minister of Justice, Francis Garlawulo, to explain a story published in their newspaper the previous day entitled “Hit Squad Reported in Town”. Moore is arrested at the Minstry’s offices and is severely beaten by six police offices on the orders of Garlawulo and then placed in a prison cell. No charges are filed against him and he is released on parole and ordered to appear in Circuit Court on February 29. In the article in question, an anonymous reporter alleges that there is a group in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, that have specific orders from the main Liberian faction, the National Patriotic Front, to assassinate government officials. The hit squad is allegedly headed by one Lieutenant-General Jack-the-Rebel.

MARCH 1

• Police in Zambia offer a reward of US$2000 for the arrest of the three journalists from The Post newspaper, Fred M’membe, Bright Mwape and Lucy Sichone. The three have been in hiding since February 23 when they were supposed to have appeared for sentencing for contempt of Parliament. (See article in this issue)
• In Ethiopia, Iskinder Nega, editor-in-chief of the popular independent English-language weekly Habesha is abducted. Nega’s mother reports that armed plainclothes police broke into their home in Addis Ababa, grabbed him, and pushed him into a police van. He is reportedly being kept incommunicado. Police deny having arrested him, even though his mother has the licence plate number of the van, which was marked “police”. This is the sixth time Nega has been arrested. Habesha has regularly been critical of the ruling Revolutionary Democratic Front for the People of Ethiopia (RDFPE) and of foreign embassies. Furthermore, Nega was due to put out a new Amharic-language newspaper on March 6. In order to promote it, he included in Habesha the title of his first article for the newspaper: “So we are going to the fifth year under RDFPE rule” (translated from Amharic).

MARCH 4

• The editor-in-chief of Zambia’s The Post newspaper, Fred M’membe, and the paper’s managing editor Bright Mwape, hand themselves over to the police and begin an indefinite prison term. The two journalists, along with columnist Lucy Sichone, were being sought by the police since failing to appear before parliament’s Standing Orders Committee for sentencing on the charge of contempt of parliament. Sichone is still at large.

MARCH 7

• Ethiopian journalist Solomon Lemma is sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of publishing false reports in order to incite war and unrest. The reports in question were a series of articles published last year about an insurgency group fighting in three provinces in western Ethiopia. Earlier this month, Lemma was released from prison after serving a one-year sentence without parole. There are currently 17 journalists who have been accused of contravening Ethiopia’s press laws and who are currently serving jail terms ranging from six months to two-and-a-half years. Some have been held without trial for as long as two years.