Namibia
Namibia, a country located on the southwestern coast of Africa, has been ranked 22 out of 180 in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI). It has dropped 4 places, from number 18 last year. However, it reclaimed the top position on press freedom in Africa, which was held by Seychelles in 2022.
WPFI is an annually published ranking of 180 countries made by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which is a non-governmental organization (NGO). The aim of WPFI is to compare the level of press freedom of journalists and media in 180 countries and territories. They collect data based on responses to a questionnaire given to journalists, researchers, academics and human rights defenders in each country or region. The ranking is based on five criteria: political context, press regulations, economic context, cultural factors, and press safety.
On the 3 of May, the day WPFI rankings were released, an article was published by The Namibian, an independent daily newspaper, to celebrate reclaiming the top press freedom index in Africa. In it they mention that “the Namibian Presidency reiterated its commitment to protecting press freedom as a crucial component of democracy in a press statement today.” To assert this the president, Hage Geingob, made a statement:
“The media plays an essential role in keeping the public informed and government institutions accountable,” he said.
Additionally, Namibia’s legal system is very protective of the press, according to the RSF and the BBC. In 2022, parliament passed a law on access to information that is supposed to facilitate investigative journalism.
Journalists don’t suffer any interference from the political authorities either. In 2019, The Namibian and the international TV news channel Al Jazeera exposed two government ministers and several police officers and businessmen for corruption, which led to their arrest.
Voa News, an American state-owned news network, attributes Namibia’s stance on media freedom to the country’s violent history. In an article posted in May 2022, they asserted the fact that Namibia gained its independence in 1990, after years of conflict and bloodshed. In the article Zoe Titus, director of the Namibia Media Trust, made a statement.
‘’Colonialism and apartheid denied us the right to freedom of expression for so long, and so now that we have that right, we guard it very diligently,’’ Titus said.
However, according to Africa Times¸ an independent participative news site, even with its good rankings and positive political and legal situations, there still is room for improvement. As an example, during protests last year multiple journalists were attacked and shot with rubber bullets by the police during protests, one of which is Elifas Bonifatius of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), who had to be taken to the hospital. Further, according to RSF verbal attacks against journalists are a common occurrence, especially from government officials.
In addition, the economic environment is more favorable to state-owned media, according to the RSF. Although, employees of the state-owned NBC went on strike demanding higher salaries last year. Additionally, advertising revenue often favors pro-government media, which further points to the possible financial issues which independent media might be facing. All of this leaves significant area for improvement, even for Africa’s freest press.
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Kiril Gevezov is a Computer Science major and Philosophy minor studying at the American University in Bulgaria. He wishes for other African countries to see the effort Namibia has put in order to achieve their press freedom and show them that it is worth fighting for media rights.
