Skip to content
IAWRT Safety of Women Journalists
Africa monitoring

Reports

236 published reports, reviewed and fact-checked by IAWRT.

Physical violenceHarassment and surveillance

Sheila Kwamboka: How I was sexually harassed by a female ‘boss’

https://nairobinews.nation.africa/sheila-kwamboka-how-i-was-sexually-harassed-by-a-female-boss/ Sheila Kwamboka popularly known as Kwambox opened her sexual harassment ordeal by her boss. “This was about four years ago, I had skipped work that day because this was a job I had been looking for. I got there and sat at …

Radio personality Sheila Kwamboka during a live past event of Jameson Live Event at the Waterfront Mall Gardens in Karen
Reporter not named 28 Mar 2023 · Kenya Verified

Physical violenceDenial of access

Nigerian Journalist, Ima Elijah harassed by thugs at Ikeja areas of Lagos while covering ongoing elections.

Ima Elijah, Journalist of Pulse Nigeria covering the ongoing governorship and state house of assembly elections in Ikeja areas of Lagos state were harassed by thugs. Upon arriving at the polling unit, she alongside Pulse media team were harassed by a group of thugs who insisted that the voting process in the area sho…

Source: Pulse Nigeria
Reporter not named 18 Mar 2023 · Nigeria Verified

Intimidation and threats

Harassment of female journalists

https://www.womeninjournalism.org/threats-all/nigeria-cfwij-condemns-attacks-on-journalists-bolanle-olabimtan-and-ajayi-adebola-during-presidential-elections?format=amp

Election Day harassment of female journalists
Reporter not named 8 Mar 2023 · Nigeria Verified

Physical violenceIntimidation and threats +2

Harassment of Tunisian journalists

A small group of Ennahda supporters, no more than 30 people, were surrounded by a large number of security forces in cars and security men dressed in civilian clothes, as well as a drone filming the event,” she added. “They began beating the event participants, so I went live on Facebook to document it. However, one o…

Harassment of Tunisian journalists
Reporter not named 7 Mar 2023 · Tunisia Verified

Arrest and Detention

Malawi Police detain Journalist Dorica Mtenje over story

Malawi Police Service detained Malawian female journalist Dorica Mtenje, who works for Maravi Post. The police confiscated Mtenje’s phones and filed charges against her for defamation, cyber-related offences, and offensive communication over a story she had not even written or published. According to Mtenje, a senior…

Malawian female journalist Dorica Mtenje
Reporter not named 9 Feb 2023 Verified

Physical violence

Presenter Anita Tumuramye of Kanungu FM assaulted by Radio Manger Over Commission Dispute

Ms Anita was physically assaulted by her manager Nelson Twinamatsiko after she demanded her commission for an advert she brought to the radio station. According to her statement , she was entitled to receive standard rate as commission from an advert she brought the company and upon inquiring about it, Mr. Nelson sl…

Image Courtesy : Ms Anita being dragged by her station manager
Reporter not named 26 Jan 2023 · Tanzania Verified

Physical violenceIntimidation and threats

Angolan opposition journalist’s wife assaulted in apparent retaliation for his reporting

At around 6 p.m. on September 20, two unidentified men whose faces were concealed by surgical masks broke into the Pinto home in Luanda, the capital, according to a statement by Radio Despertar, media reports, and the journalist and his wife, who both spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Claudio Pinto, who hosts the curren…

Ludmila Pinto (right) said she was attacked as a warning to her husband Angolan journalist Claudio Pinto (left). (Photos: Claudio Pinto)
Reporter not named 20 Sep 2022 · Angola Verified

Intimidation and threatsCensorship and legal action +1

Criticism of Regime Lands Florianne of Radio Igicaniro in Prison

Florianne Irangabiye, a female journalist and co-founder of Radio Igicaniro, faced severe harassment, including alleged sexual assault, following her arrest in August 2022 by intelligence personnel in Bujumbura, Burundi. Irangabiye,who was popular for hosting political debates critical of the Burundian government, was…

Reporter not named 30 Aug 2022 · Burundi Verified

Intimidation and threats

Harassment of a Nation Media Journalist by Rashid Echesa

During the 2022 general elections in Kenya, former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa harassed a female journalist at the Mumias Township polling station. The journalist was reportedly attacked after taking photos of youths allegedly sharing money at the polling station. Echesa confronted her, pushed her around, a…

Reporter not named 9 Aug 2022 · Kenya Verified

Physical violenceIntimidation and threats

Journalists harassed when covering election rallies

Isabel Makitoko, a journalist with a private news media company TV Maiombe was harassed by a supporter of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) on July 1. The attacker lunged at her to try to stop her from filming in the area and attempted to slap her. The account was narrated by Antonio Sapalo, a …

Isabel Makitoko
Reporter not named 29 Jul 2022 · Angola Verified

Intimidation and threatsHarassment and surveillance +1

Online Harassment: Another hindrance to Female Journalists’ career path

August 2021, while being a reporter at a local community media station, which I had just joined, was when I experienced harassment from the Managing Editor,” Joy recalls the torrent of harassment directed to her. According to her, the managing editor would call her on phone imposing flirtatious conversations, request…

Reporter not named 9 Jun 2022 · Kenya Verified

Intimidation and threatsHarassment and surveillance +2

We are not scared; we will tell our stories

Twenty-year-old Shukri Mohamed Abdi was born at the peak of the civil war in the south-West city of Baidoa, and recalls a childhood marked by frequent moves to escape violence. She first trained to be a nurse but, seeing first-hand the effects of war on ordinary people, she decided to become a journalist. When she di…

https://institute.aljazeera.net/en/ajr/article/1908
Reporter not named 1 Jun 2022 · Somalia Verified

Physical violenceHarassment and surveillance +1

Cameroon sports journalist Eyong Macdella Bessong assaulted over accreditation card dispute

Cameroonian authorities must identify and hold to account the policeman who assaulted journalist Eyong Macdella Bessong while she was covering a May 18 football match in Buea, the capital of the Southwest Region, and should hold accountable the stadium official who manhandled her and asked police to remove her from th…

Eyong Macdella Bessong
Reporter not named 26 May 2022 · Cameroon Verified

Harassment and surveillanceArrest and Detention

Female journalist harassed in Benin

According to reports, a prominent female journalist in Benin who has faced harassment is Flore Nobime; she has been documented as being detained and accused of espionage alongside a Dutch journalist while attempting to interview locals affected by extremist activity in northern Benin

Reporter not named 18 May 2022 · Benin Verified

Physical violenceIntimidation and threats +1

Harassment During Elections in Ethiopia

Ethiopian journalist Meron Hailu faced harassment during her coverage of the national elections. She experienced intimidation from both political actors and citizens, who accused her of bias. Such hostility is common for female journalists covering politically sensitive events, forcing many to self-censor or avoid the…

Reporter not named 3 May 2022 · Ethiopia Verified

Physical violenceIntimidation and threats +7

Investigative Journalists Facing Harassment and Trauma

Nigerian journalist Tobore Ovuorie shared her experiences of being harassed, including abduction threats and psychological trauma. She revealed the horrifying reality of being targeted for exposing sensitive issues like human trafficking. Such incidents often lead to depression, PTSD, and social stigma, making their w…

https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-female-investigative-journalists-in-africa-face-too-much-danger/a-61634307
Reporter not named 3 Mar 2022 · Nigeria Verified

Physical violence

Eswatini: Nomthantazo Maseko Assaulted, Threatened By Prison Officers While Reporting Live On Protest By Pro-Democracy Activists

Nomthantazo Maseko, a reporter for privately-owned outlet Swati Newsweek was physically assaulted by about 20 prison officials while covering a pro-democracy outside a prison in Matsapha town, located near the capital Mbabane. Correctional services officers pulled her out of her car, viciously beat her and threatened …

Nomthantazo Maseko
Reporter not named 9 Feb 2022 · eSwatini Verified

Intimidation and threatsDigital threats

Rapper Intimidates Journalist With Facebook Live

Broadcast journalist and radio station manager Asmaa Kamara James, was 'showered' with a two-minute-long invective by rapper Alhaji Amadu Bah, in a Facebook live video. Best known by his stage name LAJ, the rapper claimed the journalist had laughed at him the previous day, but then attempted to get a story about him t…

Rapper Swears To Pee On Journalist's Face
Reporter not named 11 Dec 2021 · Sierra Leone Verified