By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa- South Africa’s Protection of Information bill, currently in front of the African National Congress (ANC), is being attacked by many in the media as a constraint on the rights of the press.  The bill would allow the government to imprison journalists for anywhere between 3 and 25 years for disclosing information considered in the “national interest”.  Critics claim the ANC’s definition of “national interest” is too broad since it includes “all matters relating to the advancement of the public good [and] the survival and security of the state.”  The ANC claims it is simply trying to protect the government by curtailing sensationalism in the media.  However, many fighting the bill believe it is trying to prevent any unflattering news about the government from being published.
Anton Harber, a former editor who heads the journalism department at the University of the Witwatersrand, acknowledged there has been inaccuracy and dishonesty in South Africa’s media, stating “Has there been a reluctance to apologize timeously [sic] and appropriately? No doubt.”  Harber also stated there was a push amongst the editors in the industry to work together to end these problems with their reporters but the ACN’s bill had forced the media to close ranks and fight what they see as an attack on their fundamental freedoms.
Helen Zillie, a former reporter turned ACN opposition leader, says the restrictions posed by this new bill are worse than the apartheid measures she encountered while still a journalist.  During her time as a reporter in the 1970’s, she was found guilty of “tendentious” reporting for publishing a story that Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko had not died of a hunger strike while in custody, later proven to be true.  Groups and individuals like Zillie outside of the press have joined in their protests, forming large coalitions speaking out against the bill.  The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) has enlisted almost 200 different civil organizations and individuals to join in a week of protests against the bill set to start today.  In a statement released Thursday, a dozen journalism schools in South Africa said, “[c]ritique can only bear fruit in an environment that allows for unhindered investigation, the gathering of sound empirical evidence and the free exchange of ideas.”

For more information, please see;

UPI– S. African Reporters Protest Media Tribunal– 18 Sept. 2010

AllAfrica– South Africa: Civil Groups to Protest Media Restrictions– 30 Sept. 2010

NYT– Proposed Media Law Causes Alarm in South Africa– 22 Sept. 2010

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAROBI, Kenya – Over the objection of international officials, the Kenyan government has decided to let an agreement made with the European Union (E.U.) and other nations expire, thereby ending its practice of prosecuting Somali pirates.   This agreement was initially signed by Kenya and the E.U., United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, and China just over a year ago.  The contents of this agreement specified that the Kenyan government would hold, prosecute, and jail Somali pirates captured by international forces patrolling the coast of Africa. In exchange, Kenya would receive financial support from western countries to run this program and to strengthen its own judicial system.   Included in this agreement was a clause allowing Kenya to cancel the deal if six months notice is provided.  Thus, this agreement is set to expire as of September 30, 2010.

Since the agreement has been in place, more than 100 suspected pirates have been arrested by international forces and transported to Kenya for prosecution.  Despite this success, Kenya claims that the EU and other nations have not fulfilled their promises. Specifically, the western nations have not provided the financial support promised nor have they supplied the judicial and technical expertise to the Kenyan government as previously agreed.  Furthermore, Kenyan officials are concerned the security risks associated with trying Somali pirates are too high.

In response to these accusations, the western nations point to almost 3 million dollars (U.S.) that has been spent through the United Nation Office of Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) to support Kenya’s judiciary. Some of this money has been spent on creating a court specifically designed to prosecute Somali pirates.

Diplomats from the E.U. and other nations have been pressuring Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki to reconsider his decision to end the prosecution of Somali pirates.  So far, the President has not been persuaded to resurrect these agreements.  Kenya’s decision comes at a time when piracy attacks continue to plague merchant ships traveling along the eastern coast of Africa including the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.   In fact, three ships in the Indian Ocean have been attacked during the past week alone.

For more information, please see:

BBC News Africa – Kenya Ends Cooperation in Hosting Somali Pirate Trials-1 October 2010.

Bloomberg Businessweek – Kenya Jails 11 For Piracy; Daily Nation Says Trials to End-1 October 2010.

Daily Nation – Kenya Cancels Piracy Trial Deals-30 September 2010.