Kidnapped, Killed, or Silenced: Africa's Journalists Under Growing Threat
Across Africa, journalists face increasing dangers including kidnapping, torture, and murder, often at the hands of known perpetrators who remain unpunished. Reports by RFI and press freedom organizations reveal that these attacks are spreading from Burkina Faso to Guinea and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Journalists who resist control are either silenced or compelled to flee.
Case Study: Burkina Faso
On 24 June 2024, Serge Oulon, a respected investigative journalist and editor of L'Evènement, disappeared after an armed group invaded his home. In the months that followed, about a dozen more journalists in Burkina Faso were abducted under similar circumstances.
Oulon's image appeared on the cover of the last issue of L'Evènement published in July 2024, symbolizing the newspaper’s wait for his return before resuming publication. This twice-monthly paper remains one of Burkina Faso’s most respected outlets.
Intimidation Against the Press
Security forces have also violently entered the Norbert Zongo National Press Centre in Ouagadougou multiple times. The center is named after Norbert Zongo, a journalist murdered in 1998 who became an emblem of press freedom in West Africa.
“Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in Burkina Faso in a coup at the end of 2022, no longer tolerates dissenting voices.”
Under Captain Traoré’s rule, any opposition or critical reporting is swiftly suppressed, increasing fears for the safety of journalists in the country.
Summary
The systematic targeting of journalists across multiple African countries highlights a growing and alarming crackdown on press freedom, leaving many media workers vulnerable and silenced.
Author’s Note
Journalists in Africa face extreme risks as their work to expose truth is met with violence and repression, undermining free expression across the continent.
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