SANEF bemoans threats to media freedom carried by the Kenyan government
27 June 2025
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) strongly condemns the intimidation and harassment tactics employed by the state against the media in Kenya. On Wednesday, the Kenyan government, through its Communications Authority of Kenya, called for the media to stop broadcasting LIVE footage from the youth protests currently happening in the country.
While we note the latest communication suspending this directive, media houses should not be stopped from exercising their media freedom and stopped from any kind of broadcasting.
The initial decision by the government to stop LIVE broadcast footage was unheard of and a clear disregard for media freedom. The decision to initially deplatform and jam signals, leaving viewers to only watch the media broadcasts on their YouTube or Facebook pages, is not welcomed and goes against the principles of media freedom.
As a continent, we already struggle with multiple threats to democracy and freedom of expression, and we will not tolerate any media censorship or threats to media freedom.
Kenya has broken its promises as a signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which includes provisions for freedom of expression. Article 9 of this charter explicitly protects the right to receive information and to express and disseminate opinions within the law. Kenya is also signatory to other African charters which uphold media freedom, a right it is now not respecting.
We call on the government to allow the media and young people to express their views about the challenges they experience, which include structural youth unemployment and lack of opportunities, high cost of living and economic pressure, abuse of power by police against protestors and political exclusion, corruption and the other issues highlighted as the source of discontent and reason for the sporadic youth protests which started a year ago. Democracies need governments that listen to their people and protect their right to freedom of expression instead of suppressing them.
We in South Africa are speaking out because, as African journalists, we all face enough challenges while trying to do our job. Across Africa, the media plays a crucial role in sustaining democracy, playing the role of watchdog and being a bridge between the government and the people and an outlet for people’s concerns. In our context, the media’s role is often constrained by structural, political, and economic challenges.
Our continent is plagued by multiple challenges, including a lack of safety for journalists as they are attacked and even killed for exposing corruption by politicians and powerful businesspeople. State control of media, as seen in this example, has led to multiple instances of media censorship in multiple countries, including Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Egypt and now Kenya.
Various reports have been released over the last year detailing how African journalists fear for their lives with regular harassment, arrests, and sometimes murder for reporting against powerful players, including instances in Cameroon, Uganda, and Eritrea.
The law, meant to protect journalists and citizens alike, is often used to suppress and censor the media when they seek to expose corruption and abuse of power. Many African media houses are plagued by a lack of funding, infrastructure, and skilled personnel, which makes them easy prey for the well-funded and politically connected, who use and abuse the media’s role and power for their nefarious means.
Kenya joins a long list of governments that fail to respect media freedom, including Uganda and Tanzania, which regularly crack down on online media platforms and social media platforms that seek to expose corruption or keep power in check.
Nigerian journalists also regularly face death threats and harassment from the government and other business powers, while Rwandan media is mostly state-controlled, and dissenting journalists are jailed or exiled.
We, as SANEF, call on the African Union (AU) to intervene and ensure its member states uphold the freedom of expression charters they signed. The AU also needs to support countries to strengthen independent regulatory bodies, support local journalism capacity-building and training, promote media literacy among citizens to combat misinformation, and fund and protect investigative journalism while enforcing laws that protect freedom of expression and access to information.
Note to Editors:
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism by fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research, and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
For more information, please contact:
Makhudu Sefara – Chairperson (079) 177-2134
Tshamano Makhadi – Deputy Chairperson (082) 223-0621
Dr. Glenda Daniels – Secretary-General (083) 229-9708
Sbu Ngalwa – Treasurer-General (073) 404-1415
Sli Khanyile – Media Freedom Chair (083) 471-0367
Katy Katopodis – Wellness and Safety Chair (082) 805-7022
Judy Sandison – KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
Rochelle De Kock – Eastern Cape Convenor (072) 969-8028
Sisanda Nkoala – Western Cape Convenor (073) 138 5564
Reggy Moalusi – Executive Director (071) 682-3695
Twitter: @SAEditorsForum
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sanef.org.za
