PEN SA Africa Pulse #17

PEN SA Africa Pulse is a weekly round-up of news concerning cases of freedom of expression and the freedom of the press in Africa.

PEN SA Statement on the Black Land First Protest Against Peter Bruce

PEN South Africa condemns the Black Land First protest against the Tiso Blackstar editor at large, Peter Bruce. In its statement PEN SA states that “Journalists play a crucial role as watchdogs of society; they should be allowed to operate freely. That is a right enshrined in our constitution and it is a right that PEN SA defends and upholds.”
PEN SA

Why more criminalising of hate speech is a bad idea

Sanja Bornman, an attorney in the Lawyers for Human Rights Gender Equality Programme and Chair of the Hate Crimes Working Group, writes about how criminalising of hate speech provides a space for the right-wing to rally around.
Daily Maverick

HuffPostSA former editor granted leave to appeal hate speech ruling

Verashni Pillay, the former editor of the Huffington Post South Africa, has been granted leave to appeal the hate speech ruling by the Press Ombud. The appeal is scheduled for 13 July and will be heard by the chair of the appeals panel, retired Constitutional Court judge Bernard Ngoepe, and his adjudication panel.
News24

Tanzania has banned a newspaper for two years as it tightens its media clampdown

On 15 June, a privately owned weekly newspaper, Mawio, was banned for two years in Tanzania. Harrison Mwakyembe, Tanzania’s Information Minister, said in a statement that the paper was suspended for publishing the photos of two former presidents Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete in its 15-21 June edition and linking them to a government probe into allegations of misconduct in the mining sector.
Quartz Africa

Jailed for calling Ugandan president a ‘pair of buttocks’, activist vows to fight on

Ugandan academic and activist Dr Stella Nyanzi has vowed to continue her fight against oppression and poverty in Uganda. Nyanzi was arrested and spent 33 days in the country’s maximum security Luzira women’s prison for a Facebook post in which she described the Ugandan Pesident Yoweri Museveni as a ‘pair of buttocks’.
The Guardian

Two Angolan journalists charged with insulting the state

Two journalists in Angola have been charged with insulting the state. One of the journalists said that the charge is a result of an article about an allegedly unethical real estate deal involving the attorney general. According to the prosecution document, the journalists violated professional ethics and slandered President José Eduardo dos Santos.
AP News