CPJ urges Mozambican president to uphold media freedom

Mozambique

NEW YORK, 27 March 2025 / PRN Africa / -- In a letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Mozambique’s President Daniel Francisco Chapo to take decisive steps to ensure that the media can operate without fear of reprisal.

The letter urges Chapo, who was inaugurated January 2025 following a disputed election last year, to act swiftly in providing the whereabouts of two missing journalists—Ibraimo Mbaruco, who disappeared on April 7, 2020, and Arlindo Chissale, last seen on January 7, 2025. Chapo, who once worked as a journalist, should also ensure accountability for the deaths of blogger Albino Sibia, shot by a police officer in December 2024 while covering a protest, and João Chamusse, murdered in December 2023.

CPJ has previously documented numerous incidents in which security personnel have attacked journalists, including during last year’s election season, and that journalists continue to face legal harassment under colonial-era laws. The letter calls for Chapo to make comprehensive reforms of legislation that criminalizes journalism.

SOURCE Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)