AG threatens court actions against journalists ahead of Somalia's elections

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Censorship against Somalia's independent media seems inevitable following the latest threats by Attorney General Suleiman Mohamed Mohamud, media watchdog Somali Journalists Syndicate [SJS] has warned, just months after President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo promised to protect freedom of media and free speech. 

The country is headed to a crucial electioneering period although the country's leadership is yet to agree given the controversial elections committee team that had been nominated by the president and which has since been disputed by a section of opposition leaders. 

The Attorney General now says journalists will be dragged to court for "misreporting" for an appropriate action something which raises questions about the timing of the statement which coincides with a pre-election crisis that could plunge the country into unprecedented chaos. 

During a pressure conference on Thursday, Mohamud issued a warning to the independent media over a claim that they were “disseminating rumors, interviews and misleading headlines that violate the Media Law and the Media Ethics”. 

The AG further declared that his office “was investigating cases involving media houses and journalists and that he will present to relevant courts once the ongoing investigations are complete”. It is not yet clear which media houses and journalists the AG were referring to.

Early this month, the Jubaland security forces apprehended Royal TV reporter and SJS member, Abdullahi Hussein Kilas in Kismayo over a news report covering a protest by a group of displaced women who allegedly complained about misappropriation of cash-based assistance to the displaced families in Kismayo. Journalist Kilas was released after he was ordered to remove the story of the protest from his social media accounts and was not charged.

Also, the Jubbaland security officials blocked and threatened 11 journalists from the local media who were planning to cover an event where Jubbaland State president, Ahmed Mohamed Islan (Madobe) was addressing parliamentarians and government supporters in Kismayo.  

Cases of harassment of journalists including arbitrary arrests and intimidations are widely recorded across Somalia, not just in Jubaland. The incidents usually seem choreographed to instill fear against reporters who are keen to issue accurate reports from the ground. 

On 27 November, Somali police officers in Mogadishu denied access to a dozen journalists from the local media and those covering for international news agencies after a deadly blast hit an ice cream parlor on the Airport Road in Mogadishu.  The journalists said that armed police officers at the scene denied them photographing the site and those who sneaked in were also removed.

On 21 November, Somaliland police in Las Anod town detained Universal TV reporter, Khadar  Rigah and held him in detention for a week over a report alleging deteriorating security in Las Anod which he published on Facebook. The journalist was freed on 28 November, after the Sool Regional Court ordered his release.

“Somali Government and its regional Member States should respect the freedom of the press during the forthcoming elections and authorities should discourage all kinds of censorship and threats including the latest threats from Federal Government’s Attorney General,” Abdalla Ahmed Mumin, the SJS Secretary-General said, “Threatening media and journalists through legal bullying ahead of the national elections is completely unacceptable.”

Amnesty International had in February published a report that ranked Somalia as one of the countries where working as a journalist is "quite difficult". The federal government of Somalia and the Al-Shabaab were accused as the top violators of the freedom of speech and media in the Horn of Africa nation. 

GAROWE ONLINE