The state of media freedom in Southern Africa remains gloomy despite years of advocacy for free press.

A Zimbabwean lawyer, Jacqueline Chikakano , said this recently when presenting a statement from the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) to the 46th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) in Banjul, Gambia.

She noted that, despite what is being said, the reality on the ground remains the same with the media and freedom of expression environment in Southern Africa remaining bad.

"As I make this presentation, I have in this room a Tanzanian journalist, Mr Ndimara Tegambwage, who together with his editor, Mr Saed Kubenea, were attacked with acid and severely beaten in 2008 because of their newspaper's expose's on corruption," she said.

She explained that after the attack, their newspaper, Mwanahalisi, was shut down for allegedly reporting negatively on the head of state, President Jakaya Kikwete.

"Since then the judiciary has ruled that the newspaper should pay nearly $3 million (about Sh3 billion) in a defamation case involving a senior ruling party politician and executive. This, in a country where the majority live on less than a dollar a day," she said, continuing:

"We call upon the commissioners to take interest in the coming 2010 elections in Tanzania, especially with regard to the continued harassment of the media."

Turning to her home country, she noted that Zimbabwe remains a major concern to MISA despite a flicker of hope presented by the Unity government.

She said this seems to be all unravelling as the promised media reforms remain stalled, with the state media going back to spewing hate messages against perceived 'enemies of the state'.

"The private media is openly threatened with arrest by senior government officials and denied permits to operate while the state-owned media launches one publication after another," she said.

Turning to Zambia, she noted that people have witnessed a consistent pattern of harassment of the media by the state.

This is done through the use of such laws as the penal code, apart from non-state actors acting on behalf of political parties. The latter have been on the warpath against the private media, mainly The Post newspaper, she noted.

She said while elections in Botswana were peaceful, the state broadcaster, Botswana TV, was clearly in favour of the ruling party to the extent of having its CEO read ruling party messages on air.

"We remain concerned with new laws that are being passed in the Southern Africa region, notably the Media Practitioners Act in Botswana and the proposed statutory media council in Swaziland.

"We are also concerned over the state of the SABC in South Africa which remains caught in a political power struggle that seems not to abate any time soon," she added.