In 2025, Rwanda fell 2 places in the world press freedom index. The Democratic Republic of Congo fell 10 places. Uganda 15 and Burundi 17.
This puts Burundi in 125th place out of a total of 180 countries, the DRC in 133rd place, Uganda in 143rd place and Rwanda in 146th place.
This free fall is a worrying indicator…
The rebels of the M23 were about to take the city of Goma when I said goodbye to my friends there. Several of them are journalists. Leaving was still possible for them, but it was not an option, they explained to me. ‘This is our home. You don’t just leave it behind.’ On the first day of the offensive, they shared images of civilians moving into the city centre, looking for places to be protected. Then they themselves found themselves in danger. Looting soldiers and civilian militias robbed…
A testimony by Loochi Muzaliwa from Bukavu
War is once again at the doorstep of the city of Bukavu, the capital of the province of South Kivu. Everyone is talking about yet another liberation. The M23 rebels are advancing rapidly from the city of Goma. I make several calls to people from the villages in the Kalehe region, north of the city. They tell me that the fall of the city of Bukavu is imminent. It reminds me of previous events: the war of 1996 under the AFDL,…
In Burundi, journalism has always been a high-risk profession. Those who raise microphones and don't raise questions obviously have nothing to fear, while those who allow themselves to be used have no trouble getting around. But for journalists who define their profession by real independence, the situation changed completely…
MO*, the media platform on global news, is awarding two paid internships from 1 August 2025 to 1 January 2026 to write about decolonisation. We are looking for one would-be journalist already living in Belgium and one from the Global South. MO* will provide board, lodging and a monthly stipend. We welcome applications between 1 May and 1 June. We will organise job interviews in the month of June and the internship will start from 1 August. If…
Rwanda presents itself as a stable and modernizing country, but independent journalism remains nearly impossible. The government of President Paul Kagame exerts tight control over the media, using legal restrictions, intimidation and surveillance to silence critical reporting. Journalists who challenge the official narrative face harassment, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, exile or death.
The few independent media outlets that once existed have been shut down or co-opted,…
The Human Rights Network for Journalists - Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) received and recorded a total of 122 (one hundred twenty-two) cases of human rights violations and abuses against journalists and media practitioners in 2023. This was an increase from the 94 (ninety-four) cases recorded in 2022. The cases of human rights violations reported in 2023 involved blocked access, arrests, assaults, confiscation of gadgets, damage of equipment and unjustified suspension of individual journalists among…
Trésor Kamavu, a journalist with Okapinews.net, has been held for a week in solitary confinement at the military garrison auditorium in Beni (North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo), with no official reason given. C
itizens coming from territories occupied by the M23, including journalists, are arrested or prevented from travelling on suspicion of collaborating with the enemy when they reach the area under government control.
This situation constitutes a serious attack on…
The organization Human Rights Watch confirms that the M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, are intimidating, attacking or killing activists, journalists and peaceful critics in the areas under their control in eastern DR Congo. Even before the fall of Goma and Bukavu, the justice minister warned that any journalist publishing information about the M23 and the Rwandan armed forces would face severe legal consequences, including possibly the death penalty. Both the Congolese army, and the armed…