Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to contribute to the development of an integrated and progressive jurisprudence and understanding on freedom of expression and information around the world.  It maintains an extensive database of international case law. This is its newsletter dealing with recent developments  in the field.

In Lusaka, Zambian-American influencer Ethel Chisono Edwards received a prison sentence of 18 months for insulting President Hakainde Hichilema. Known for content critical of Zambia’s leader, Edwards was arrested upon her arrival in the country three months ago; on December 2, she was convicted of hate speech under the Cyber Security Act and the Cyber Crimes Act. Her case has sparked a debate on free speech.

The two cyber laws have long prompted calls for revision. Civil society warned that the bills chilled expression, granted broad surveillance powers, and included vague terms that could be abused. According to the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), the “harassment, humiliation, and dissemination of false information” provision, similar to the one invalidated in Andare v. Attorney General, “silently” reintroduced criminal defamation, breaching regional standards.

In disregard of repeated alarm-ringing, Zambia’s Cyber Security Act and Cyber Crimes Act, largely unchanged, were enacted this past spring. They join a troubling trend across Africa: instead of effectively safeguarding citizens from cyber threats, cyber laws are being deployed to restrict democratic participation.

In Kenya, the newly amended Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act “creates an unacceptable threat to digital rights and freedom of expression,” Kennedy Kachwanya of Bloggers Association of Kenya told Human Rights Watch. In Nigeria, the authorities systematically target journalists under the Cybercrimes Act, despite the 2024 reforms. In one case, detained news-site publisher Friday James Alefia faces up to three years in jail on five counts of “false” statements linked to his reporting on corruption.

In Zambia, Kenya, and Nigeria – all three featured in this week’s cases – elections approach, with Zambia voting first in August 2026. The tools provided by the current cyber laws raise fears of a crackdown. “Zambia’s parliament should get back on the drafting table,” argues CIPESA. A different set of tools must take priority then: among them the landmark Malabo Convention, which Zambia has ratified and whose Article 25 emphasizes protection of basic rights like freedom of expression, as well as the African Commission’s Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression.

We extend our warm congratulations to Dario Milo, Attorney and Partner at Webber Wentzel and CGFoE Expert, who has been named the year’s top litigation lawyer of Johannesburg in the 17th edition of Best Lawyers South Africa. Milo has led many of the media freedom cases decided by the South African courts, including successful Constitutional Court cases for amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism.

A recognition well-deserved!

Photo credit: Webber Wentzel

South Africa
The South African Human Rights Commission v. Malema
Decision Date: August 27, 2025
An Equality Court in South Africa held that statements made by a politician calling on his party members to “kill” as part of the revolution against white supremacy constituted hate speech. The politician delivered these remarks at a party conference, and referred to an incident two years prior in which members of the party had been assaulted by a community group, including white men, but had not “retaliated” in the way the politician said the “revolution” expected. The South African Human Rights Commission and members of the original community group brought legal proceedings against the politician and his party to interdict them from making similar comments in future. The Court found that the repeated reference of the perpetrators of the assault as white males had singled them out as the targets of retribution on the prohibited grounds of race and gender and that the speech was non-metaphorical in nature, but rather a direct and instructive endorsement for violence as a form of retribution. As a result, the Court held that the offending portions of the speech constituted an incitement to violence and therefore hate speech.

Zambia
Yaolin Shen (in his capacity as Secretary General of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Zambia) v. News Diggers
Decision Date: July 4, 2025
A Zambian High Court set aside an interim interdict preventing the screening of a documentary on the realities of Chinese investment in Zambia. After a media house published a preview of the documentary on social media, the Zambian chapter of a Chinese business association obtained an interdict on the grounds that they had not been given an opportunity to respond to the allegations and that the documentary could harm Chinese business and investment. The media opposed the interdict, noting that it would raise a defence of justification in the public interest to any claim of defamation. The Court confirmed that the business association had not demonstrated any defamation and accepted, combined with the existence of the media’s defence, that there were no grounds for an interdict.

Kenya
Ayiro v. Namu
Decision Date: July 4, 2025
A Kenyan Magistrate’s Court set aside a preliminary injunction it had previously granted which had prevented an investigative media house from publishing an article about alleged sexual misconduct by a teacher at a girls’ school. The teacher had approached the Court after a journalist had telephoned him to inform him that the media house intended to publish its investigation into his conduct and provided him with a formal right of reply. The Court granted the temporary injunction without hearing from the media house, and the media house then approached the Court seeking to have the injunction set aside. The Court highlighted the importance of protecting the rights of vulnerable children and accountability for sexual misconduct and found that the possible harm to the teacher’s reputation was outweighed by the importance of publishing an article that addressed sexual abuse of children and possible institutional cover-ups.

Nigeria
Osakwe v. Edo State Agency for the Control of Aids
Decision Date: April 11, 2025
The Supreme Court of Nigeria unanimously overturned a Court of Appeal decision, holding that the Freedom of Information Act 2011 (FOIA) applies to all states within the Nigerian Federation and their respective agencies. The case arose when the Edo State Agency for the Control of AIDS refused a request from civil society actors to supply information on its finances, donors, and grant processes under the FOIA. The Court found that the Nigerian Constitution empowers the National Assembly to legislate on matters of public records for the entire Federation, a term which encompasses all state governments. It reasoned that a federal law on a concurrent legislative matter applies directly to states, and the absence of state-level legislation on the same subject does not negate this applicability. The doctrine of “covering the field” was discussed but found unnecessary to invoke in this instance, as the federal law was deemed operative regardless. The Supreme Court reinstated the trial court’s judgment ordering disclosure and awarded costs to the appellants.

CGFoE’s Anderson Dirocie Behind Historic Dominican Court Win Protecting LGBTQI+ Rights. We at CGFoE celebrate the work of Anderson Javiel Dirocie De León, Senior Legal & Policy Consultant, whose legal challenge resulted in a landmark decision advancing equality and human rights in the Dominican Republic. This November, the country’s Constitutional Court struck down provisions that criminalized consensual same-sex intimacy among police and military personnel, recognizing sexual orientation as a protected constitutional category. “CGFoE is proud of Anderson’s leadership and legal expertise, which helped shape a case that will protect generations of public servants and advance freedom of expression for all,” said CGFoE’s Associate Director Hawley Johnson. What makes this decision historic and relevant to freedom of expression? We explain in this Backgrounder. Photo: Co-petitioners Anderson Javiel Dirocie De León and Patricia M. Santana Nina on the day of the hearing.

● Nigeria: ECOWAS Court Orders Action on Blasphemy Laws. Citing Media Rights Agenda, IFEX reports that the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued a Writ of Execution to the Federal Government of Nigeria, requesting that the State implement the Court’s orders in ENHRI v. Nigeria. On April 9, 2025, the Court held that Nigeria’s blasphemy laws violated the fundamental right to freedom of expression, finding that Section 210 failed the test of legality and Section 382(b) was neither proportionate nor necessary, concluding that the death penalty “for abusing or insulting a religious figure is an excessive measure.” The Writ addressed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the authority responsible for the enforcement of the Court’s judgments. CGFoE has updated the analysis of the ground-breaking decision here.

● South Africa: Protection Order Against a Journalist Set Aside; Misuse of Harassment Laws Rises. As the Praktiseer Magistrates’ Court in Limpopo lifts the protection order previously granted against journalist Thomo Nkgadima, Media Defence and the Campaign for Free Expression (CFE) welcome the ruling but caution against the growing abuse of South Africa’s Protection from Harassment Act. Nkgadima is far from the only freelancer covering municipal-level corruption who has been silenced through this measure. “Thomo’s experience […] is part of a broader trend in which protection orders, designed primarily for victims of domestic violence, are being misused to gag journalists,” said Nicole Fritz of the CFE, which plans to intervene in similar cases, pursuing a narrower definition of “harassment” under the law. “We will be asking the courts to draw a clear line,” Fritz added.

● Niger: Reverse the Suspension of Civil Society Organisations. CIVICUS deplores the suspension of hundreds of NGOs in Niger. Last month, Interior Minister General Mohamed Toumba authorized only around 100 groups to remain active; Toumba ordered the rest – over 4,000 NGOs, both domestic and international – to suspend work due to their failure to officially disclose 2024’s financial reports. The measure is the latest in the continuous efforts of those in power to rein in Niger’s civil society sector through accusations that the groups “support the jihadists” and new regulations “to ensure the monitoring and supervision” of NGOs. “The suspension of these organisations is a new low for human rights in a country that has continuously failed to respect fundamental freedoms, including freedom of association,” said Paul Mulindwa, Africa Lead for CIVICUS.

This section of the newsletter features teaching materials focused on global freedom of expression which are newly uploaded on Freedom of Expression Without Frontiers

● Kenya: “This Fear, Everyone Is Feeling It” – Tech-Facilitated Violence Against Young Activists. Digital platforms have played a powerful role in mobilizing Kenya’s youth for the protests of 2024 and 2025; yet technology, as Amnesty International reveals, has also helped the state orchestrate large-scale repression. Kenyans rallied against the Finance Bill in June 2024 and took to the streets again a year later to protest the government and lack of accountability; the largely peaceful demonstrations were suppressed violently, resulting in at least 3,000 arrests, 83 enforced disappearances, and 128 deaths. The report, based on expert observations and interviews with Kenya’s human rights defenders, examines the state’s “shadowy” tech-facilitated tactics – coordinated online harassment, surveillance, and disinformation campaigns – and complicity of companies like X and Safaricom.

● State of Internet Freedom in West Africa: Navigating the Implications of AI on Digital Democracy in Africa. The report, compiled by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), analyzes the impact of AI on digital rights across 14 countries: Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The study finds that unregulated AI-powered surveillance, along with “opaque content moderation practices,” chills speech and activism and restricts media freedom. CIPESA argues that without a rights-centered approach to AI, the technology “risks becoming a powerful tool that deepens existing inequalities, facilitates authoritarian control, and fundamentally undermines democratic values and human rights across the continent.”

● IPI’s 75th Anniversary Initiatives. This year, the International Press Institute (IPI) celebrates 75 years of defending journalism worldwide. To mark the milestone, the Institute launched two virtual exhibitions: IPI Archive, a dive into decades of press freedom battles, and Honoring the Pioneers, a spotlight on the women who helped shape the forty years of IPI’s General Assembly. A cherry on top of it all is IPI’s list of 75 must-read books on press freedom and independent reporting – pick your over-the-holiday read here.

● Job Opening: Programme Director at APC. The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is looking for a Programme Director to join its Leadership Team. Applications close on December 15. Visit Mission Talent to learn more.

This newsletter is reproduced with the permission of Global Freedom of Expression.  For an archive of previous newsletters, see here.