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Turning Attention to Africa's Jailed Journalists

The number of journalists imprisoned worldwide has reached a record high for the second consecutive year - an alarming trend that has emerged, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Between January 1 and December 1, 2021 at least 293 journalists were jailed across the world - the highest number since the organization started tracking the imprisonment of journalists in 1992. The number of journalists imprisoned in 2020 stood at 274.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the biggest setback for media freedom came in Ethiopia. The number of jailed journalists stands at 45, with Ethiopia's civil war having seen a significant regression in media freedom in the region. Southern Africa, however, has no recorded arrests of journalists for 2021. 

The countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the most imprisoned journalists are Eritrea and Ethiopia, with 16 and nine respectively. Other countries with jailed journalists include Rwanda, Cameroon, Benin, Somalia, Nigeria, the DR Congo, and the Central African Republic.

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