Crackdown on media freedom gains momentum in Mozambique
Image: Rohan Reddy @rofotoqoto via Unsplash
New research warns threats to media freedom are escalating at an alarming rate in Mozambique as the government seeks to impose state-controlled narratives and suppress dissenting or independent views.
A recently released report by Intelwatch, a Southern African intelligence agency watchdog, paints a bleak picture of a raft of repressive measures and actions being taken to control public discourse. These include a draconian new censorship law, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, the murder of journalists as well as pervasive state surveillance and online harassment.
The ongoing conflict in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province provides further impetus to crackdowns on independent journalism under the guise of maintaining security. Journalists reporting on the conflict and associated human rights abuses have been arbitrarily detained, tortured and murdered by members of the security forces, with no one held accountable.
Two new media laws are currently under public review.
The first, the Social Communication Bill, proposes creating a state-controlled regulator with sweeping powers. These include “supervision and inspection” rights to raid newsrooms, seize working equipment from journalists and cut transmission – all without a court order. The bill also provides for mandatory licensing for journalists and media outlets, which the government can arbitrarily revoke based on vague criteria such as threats to “social harmony”. Foreign media operating in Mozambique would also face the strict accreditation limit of two correspondents per outlet, which would severely curtail international scrutiny.
The report by Intelwatch describes the law as “the most significant rollback of media rights since Mozambique’s democratic opening in the 1990s”.
The second law seeks to regulate and control public, private and community radio and television stations. The Broadcasting Bill will make it mandatory to rebroadcast official state addresses – in effect, forcing private broadcasters to air government propaganda under threat of losing their licences. A requirement of 80% local content will force smaller broadcasters out of business unless they agree to rely on content supplied by the government.
Along with political pressure as well as surveillance and repression by Mozambican security forces, journalists and independent media face economic intimidation too. Government advertising is allocated to outlets run by state-owned or pro-government media, financially starving independent outlets, especially those engaged in investigative journalism.
The combined impact is widespread self-censorship and erosion of public trust in the media, depriving citizens of reliable and credible information needed to participate meaningfully in public life. Silencing journalists also allows corruption and human rights abuses to flourish.
The report urges the government to withdraw the proposed censorship law and replace it with a transparent and consultative drafting process, and to set up an independent, internationally-monitored commission of inquiry to investigate the deaths and disappearances of journalists.
