Africa: ‘Journalism is Not a Crime’ – Courts Weaponised Against African Journalists

Johannesburg — A disturbing pattern is emerging across Africa where courts are being weaponised to silence journalists, with two high-profile cases this week highlighting how the judicial system is being used to punish reporters for simply doing their jobs.

In Zimbabwe, veteran editor Faith Zaba remains detained at the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison alongside hardened criminals after being arrested for a satirical column. Meanwhile, in Algeria, French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the “crime” of interviewing a football club president.

The parallel cases have sparked a continental outcry, with media organizations across Africa and international press freedom groups rallying behind the rallying cry: “Journalism is not a crime!”

Zaba, Editor of the Zimbabwe Independent, was arrested on Monday on charges of “undermining the authority of the President” over a satirical “Muckraker” column that reportedly described President Emmerson Mnangagwa as heading a “mafia state”.

Despite her severe illness and pleas from her lawyers, Zaba has been remanded to Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison – Zimbabwe’s most notorious detention facility that houses murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals. The decision to place a journalist in such conditions is widely seen as deliberate punishment designed to intimidate the media.

“This is not about justice – this is about using the courts to terrorise journalists,” said Dumisani Muleya, chairman of the Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum. “Placing Faith in Chikurubi with hardened criminals while she’s seriously ill is cruel and calculated intimidation.”

The Southern Africa Editors’ Forum (SAEF) described the detention as “appalling” and warned it represents a dangerous precedent for the region. “When courts become instruments of oppression rather than justice, democracy itself is under threat,” SAEF stated.

Algeria: Seven Years for a Sports Interview

The weaponisation of courts against journalists reached shocking new heights in Algeria, where Christophe Gleizes was sentenced to seven years in prison on June 29 for “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing propaganda publications harmful to the national interest.”

His crime? Interviewing the president of JS Kabylie football club, who authorities claim has ties to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie, an opposition group seeking autonomy for the northern Kabylie region.

Gleizes, a freelance sports journalist who has contributed to French magazines So Foot and Society, traveled to Algeria in 2023 to report on the prominent football team. He was arrested on May 28, 2024, in Tizi Ouzou, about 60 miles east of Algiers.

“Sentencing a journalist to seven years in prison over an interview is a clear indication of the government’s intolerance of press freedom,” said Sara Qudah, Regional Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). “This is judicial persecution masquerading as law enforcement.”

Continental Pattern of Judicial Intimidation

The cases reflect a broader trend across Africa where authoritarian governments are increasingly using courts to legitimize press freedom violations. Unlike the crude censorship of the past, today’s crackdowns often come wrapped in legal procedures that provide a veneer of due process while delivering the same chilling effect.

In Zimbabwe alone, prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono faced multiple arrests and court proceedings in 2020 and 2021, while Blessed Mhlanga spent 73 days in detention earlier this year. Each case involved charges that criminalized standard journalistic practices.

Media rights organisations note that this judicial weaponization is particularly insidious because it creates the appearance of rule of law while systematically dismantling press freedom. Courts become complicit in persecution rather than serving as protectors of constitutional rights.

Global ‘Journalism is Not a Crime’ Movement

The parallel detention of Zaba and sentencing of Gleizes has energized the global press freedom movement, with journalists and media organizations across continents declaring solidarity under the banner “Journalism is Not a Crime!”

International media houses, press freedom organisations, and journalist unions are coordinating campaigns demanding the immediate release of both reporters. The movement emphasizes that conducting interviews, writing satirical columns, and holding power accountable are fundamental journalistic activities protected under international law.

“When asking questions becomes terrorism and satire becomes sedition, we’ve entered a dark chapter for press freedom,” said a joint statement from African press freedom organizations. “Courts that should protect constitutional rights are instead being used to crush them.”

SADC Summit: A Test of Regional Leadership

The timing is particularly significant as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) prepares for its annual summit in Madagascar this August. Regional leaders will face pressure to address the systematic abuse of judicial systems to silence journalists.

SAEF has called for press freedom violations to be a key agenda item, urging democratic governments within SADC to pressure Zimbabwe and other countries engaging in judicial persecution of journalists.

“This is a defining moment for SADC,” the forum stated. “Will regional leaders stand with press freedom or remain silent while courts are perverted into instruments of oppression?”

International Diplomatic Pressure

France’s foreign affairs ministry has called Gleizes’ sentence “harsh” and requested consular access, while international diplomatic pressure is mounting on both Algeria and Zimbabwe. However, critics argue that stronger action is needed from the international community to combat the systematic abuse of judicial systems.

The European Union, African Union, and United Nations have all expressed concern about the trend of using courts to silence journalists, but activists say concrete sanctions and diplomatic consequences are needed to deter such actions.

Every journalist watching Faith Zaba in Chikurubi or seeing Christophe Gleizes sentenced to seven years understands the message

Legal experts warn that the judicial persecution of journalists creates a devastating chilling effect that extends far beyond the individual cases. When courts become tools of intimidation rather than justice, self-censorship becomes endemic, and investigative journalism withers.

“Every journalist watching Faith Zaba in Chikurubi or seeing Christophe Gleizes sentenced to seven years understands the message,” said one regional media analyst who requested anonymity. “The courts are no longer neutral arbiters – they’re weapons against press freedom.”

As the “Journalism is Not a Crime” movement gains momentum across Africa and beyond, the cases of Zaba and Gleizes have become powerful symbols of a broader struggle for press freedom and judicial independence across the continent.

The world is watching to see whether African courts will serve justice or continue to serve as instruments of oppression against those whose only crime was practicing journalism.

By Jovial Rantao