Local media coverage of the 2013 Kenyan elections downplayed acts of violence and bordered on self-censorship despite the fact that social media reflected a deeply politically and ethnically divided society. The new Kenyatta government has now embarked on a charm offensive to co-opt the media
Whilst The Gambia remains a member of the Commonwealth that affirms freedom of expression as one of its core values, the government of President Yahya Jammeh has been clamping down on newspapers and journalists with zeal
Since formal independence the media in Africa has been bludgeoned into capitulation to the state. To overturn this reality there must be decriminalisation of libel and legislation on the right to access to information must be enforced
One of Africa’s biggest problems is that it is not allowed to tell its own stories. There are imperfect solutions such as content-sharing agreements among journalists but ultimately Africa must set its own news agenda
