+ December 2020 in Africa: A free expression roundup produced by IFEX’s regional editor Reyhana Masters, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
The end of 2020 brought an unexpected but welcome Christmas Eve gift in the unconditional release, through a presidential pardon, of
Burundian journalists Agnes Ndirubusa, Christine Kamikazi, Egide Harerimana and Terence Mpozenzi.
Very good news, @iwacuinfo journalists Agnès, Christine, Térance & Egide have been released. We welcome this decision because their conviction was unfair. However, other #HRDs likeGermain RUKUKI are still in jail, they also deserve better. @DefendDefenders@AfricaDefenderspic.twitter.com/kO8jvTDB2r
The journalists from Iwacu Press Group, one of the country’s remaining independent media outlets, were sentenced to two and half years in prison and fined a million Burundian francs (US$515) in what was seen as a flawed legal process.
Voters in Ghana have gone to the polls to choose a new president and 275 members of parliament.
The country is regarded as one of the most democratic in West Africa.
But there have been some examples of misinformation about the voting.
Were ballots printed to favour the president?
A video has been circulating on social media channels that purports to show a ballot with a larger fingerprint box for President Nana Akufo-Addo.
This claim was first highlighted by West African fact-checking site Dubawa.
However, the ballot featured in the video is missing some of the features that appear on official ballots, such as a red background behind all the images and an official stamp.