CPJ Speaks Out On Media Censorship

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to stop harassing private broadcaster Muvi TV and ensure independence of media ahead of the upcoming elections. 

The group’s statement followed a finding by the IBA that Muvi TV was guilty of professional misconduct in relation to its airing of interview with opposition politicians. 

“The Independent Broadcasting Authority’s threat to revoke Muvi TV’s license amounts to censorship of a private broadcaster ahead of the crucial August 12 elections,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. 

“The regulator should encourage editorial independence and diversity of views rather than threatening to revoke the licenses of privately owned outlets like Muvi TV,” she continued. 

The IBA previously suspended Muvi TV’s broadcast license on August 22, 2016, claiming that it was guilty of professional misconduct and posed a risk to national peace and stability before and after that year’s general election, something CPJ reported on at the time. 

CPJ also spoke out when the IBA canceller the broadcasting license of Prime TV in 2020.  

The CPJ is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes press and freedom worldwide. It defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.