The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has recently concluded a promotion mission to South Africa, an official country visit mandated under the African Charter to assess the current state of human rights and advance regional standards.
The delegation arrived amid alarming xenophobic and Afro-phobic violence. Anti-immigration protests continue in South Africa, accompanied by attacks and threats against journalists. Meanwhile, women across the country are protesting high levels of gender-based violence and femicide—five times higher than the global average—demanding stronger action from the authorities.
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo joined the ACHPR mission, which raised concerns, among other things, about Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs); widespread misinformation and disinformation, often targeting foreign nationals; digital harassment of persons with HIV, including doxxing; and ineffective protections for journalists and environmental human rights defenders.
The delegation urged South Africa to “[r]eview existing frameworks for the protection of human rights and environmental defenders” to curb violent attacks against them and their exposure to SLAPPs brought by big businesses. It also called for legislation addressing misinformation and disinformation on digital platforms.
The recommendations come as the ACHPR steps up its efforts to confront SLAPPs across Africa. Earlier this year, the Commission adopted its first resolution on SLAPPs, tasking special rapporteurs with studying the scale and nature of the abusive lawsuits across the continent and identifying ways to tackle them—measures crucial for the protection of civic space, journalism, and, as human rights groups increasingly point out, the environment.
Cartooning for Peace Turns 20!
We at CGFoE join in celebrating 20 years of Cartooning for Peace, an international network of committed press cartoonists who use humor to promote human rights and democratic values.
“[E]ditorial cartoons play a central role in democratic debate, intercultural dialogue and social cohesion,” said Kak, President of Cartooning for Peace. We encourage you to explore and support the initiative, whose work is now more urgent than ever.
Cartoon credit: Main2Dieu (Burkina Faso)
Nigeria
John v. SERAP
Decision Date: May 5, 2026
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) held that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project NGO (SERAP) and its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, were guilty of defamation arising from publications made on SERAP’s official X (formerly Twitter) account and website. The case arose after two Department of State Services (DSS) officials visited SERAP’s Abuja office as part of what they described as a routine familiarization exercise. Shortly after the visit, SERAP published statements alleging that DSS officers had unlawfully occupied its office, invaded its premises, and engaged in harassment and intimidation. Both officers filed a defamation suit against SERAP and Kolawole Oluwadare. The High Court held that, although the publications did not expressly identify the claimants by name, the specific descriptions used, read together with the date, location, and circumstances of the visit, sufficiently identified them. The Court further concluded that SERAP failed to prove the defenses of justification, qualified privilege, and fair comment, particularly given admissions by its own witnesses that the claimants neither forced entry into the premises nor engaged in threatening conduct. The Court concluded that the publications caused significant professional, emotional, and reputational harm to the claimants, including internal investigations and suspension from the DSS. Accordingly, the Court awarded the claimants 100 million Nigerian Naira (approx. 73,140 USD) as damages, and directed SERAP to publish a formal apology on its website, its X account, and through specified national newspapers and television stations.
South Africa
Theuwedi Trading Enterprise v. Media24
Decision Date: May 2, 2026
A South African High Court rejected a company’s dual applications to remove a news article that mentioned the company in connection with alleged municipal corruption and to restrain the media publication from publishing similar articles in the future. After an online news outlet published an article about an irregular tender awarded by a municipality to 15 companies and noting that this tender had also been the subject of an investigative report written by a municipal auditor shortly before he was murdered, one of the companies brought an urgent application seeking the removal of the article and an order that the news outlet not publish further allegations against it. Applying the “reasonable reader test,” the Court found that no reasonable reader would assume that the company had motive to murder the auditor, and held that the media outlet was entitled to the defamation defenses of “reasonable publication” and fair comment.
Uganda
Alternative Digitalk Limited v. Attorney General
Decision Date: March 17, 2026
The Constitutional Court of Uganda struck down the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, Act No. 24 of 2022, as unconstitutional in its entirety. The Court held that the Parliament of Uganda passed the Amendment without complying with the mandatory quorum requirements under Rule 24(3) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, rendering the entire enactment inconsistent with Articles 88 and 89 of the Constitution and therefore null and void. It further declared that several substantive provisions of the Act, including those criminalizing unauthorized data access, unsolicited communication, malicious information, and the misuse of social media, were overly broad, vague, and imposed unjustifiable limitations on the constitutional rights to freedom of expression, privacy, and access to information. Furthermore, the Court declared Section 162 of the Penal Code Act, which criminalized libel, inconsistent with Uganda’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), issuing a permanent injunction against its enforcement.
CGFoE Team Teaches a Class at University of Buenos Aires. This Wednesday, CGFoE returned to the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) with a seminar on Freedom of Expression in International Human Rights Law. Joining the class led by Lautaro Furfaro, Professor of International Human Rights Law at UBA and Senior Legal Researcher at CGFoE, the team—Hawley Johnson, Juan Manuel Ospina, Estefania Mullally, and Anastasiia Vorozhtsova—covered the universal and regional freedom of expression standards, featuring CGFoE’s Special Collection papers and Protest Monitor.
● Kenya: Authorities Must Address Economic Grievances Driving Protests, End Repressive Tactics. In a new report, based on 102 interviews, Amnesty International documents how between 2023 and 2025, the Kenyan authorities suppressed protests against economic hardship and aggressive fiscal policies by deploying authoritarian tactics: arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention, abductions, prosecution, surveillance, and media repression, among others.
● Nigeria: Lawyers Urge Supreme Court to Hear Case of Musician in Prison on Blasphemy Charge. Lawyers representing Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a young Sufi musician who has spent nearly seven years in prison while facing a death sentence over alleged blasphemy, call on Nigeria’s Supreme Court to reinstate his case on the court’s cause list and schedule an accelerated hearing date without further delay. Sharif-Aminu composed and circulated a song, containing expressions considered blasphemous against the Prophet Muhammad—see CGFoE’s case analysis.
● Uganda: Right to Insult—The Case of Praise Aloikin Opoloje. Ugandan civil liberties defender Praise Aloikin Opoloje was recently arrested after publishing a video in which she called the Chief of Defence Forces a cabbage, among other things, sparking a public debate. The Uganda Law Society argues that “[i]nsult, on its own, cannot ground a criminal penalty in Uganda,” citing Uganda’s constitution, relevant case law, and international and African standards. After more than two weeks on remand, Opoloje was granted bail on October 14.
● FIFAfrica26: State of Internet Freedom in Africa. IFEX reports that the 2026 Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica26) concluded with this year’s edition of the State of Internet Freedom in Africa, which examines how digital public infrastructure systems impact human rights, governance, and democratic participation across 11 countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
In Tirana, Albania, months of protests have been escalating into violent clashes since last Wednesday, October 14. On Thursday, across Argentina, thousands marched in defense of public universities; police deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons; 50 media workers were affected. As rallies over voter roll manipulation continue across India, Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and student leader Neha Bora, among others, were detained on Friday. Over the weekend in multiple cities in Italy, peaceful protests escalated into violence; the government approved sweeping security measures. On Saturday, “No Kings” rallies took place across the US, with organizers urging early voting before the midterms. On Sunday in Bogota, Colombia, police used tear gas and water cannons outside the National Museum against those who protested the government’s removal of 30 historical exhibits. On Monday, Mauritius lifted a curfew imposed due to unrest over water shortages and living costs, which escalated after police shot a woman. On Tuesday in multiple cities in Portugal, thousands rallied over the housing crisis after police dismantled protest camps and arrested 55 demonstrators.
It was an extraordinary week of protests. Find many more we have tracked here.
Student-led protests over education that began in September peaked nationwide in France on October 17, sparking further demonstrations across Europe.
Background: High-school students demand smaller classes, enough teachers, better facilities, and modified timetables. Attempts to blockade schools began mid-September in a Paris suburb and quickly spread to other cities. Within a month, the movement grew to include trade unions and “yellow vest” activists and culminated in a nationwide public-sector strike against the 2027 proposed budget on October 17. Major protests are again expected this Saturday, October 24.
Significance: Hundreds of thousands—550,000 by the authorities’ count and 800,000 according to the organizers—protested nationwide on October 17. While most rallied peacefully, sideline violence was the worst France had seen in years: 1,500 businesses have been damaged; a historic town hall in Limoges burned. The protests, taking place ahead of France’s presidential election six months away, have spread to Belgium, Italy, and Portugal, with mass actions planned in Germany.
Concessions: The government promised to send 3,000 teachers to 500 schools and increase the education budget by €1.2 billion but failed to calm the unrest. After a teenager in Lens lost a hand, the use of stun grenades was temporarily suspended.
State Response: On October 17, police in Paris used tear gas and stun grenades, including before the march began. The Interior Ministry reported nearly 2,400 arrests—855 in Paris—and 997 security officers injured. In Saint-Étienne, a 17-year-old reportedly lost his hand due to a crowd-control grenade, adding to several other grave injuries to teenagers by police weapons recorded earlier. On October 19, the authorities issued partial, localized curfews in major cities; the Paris police banned demonstrations in several sectors of the city.
FoE Violations: Reporters Without Borders documented around 30 attacks on journalists, including violence committed by both police and protesters, with more than half of the cases on October 17. Earlier, Amnesty International repeatedly condemned the use of excessive force against peaceful protesters, noting that the government considered a bill that would make anyone taking part in a gathering that causes property damage financially liable, even if there is no proof of involvement.
“But That’s Not Me!”: Sexualized Deepfakes in Law, Tech, and Society. The Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University Delhi will launch a new report on the gendered implications and harms of non-consensual synthetic imagery (NCSI), or deepfakes. Are you in New Delhi? Join the discussion on November 16. As part of this project, the Centre also published Private Images, Public Emergency: Explainer on Sexualised Deepfakes.
This newsletter is reproduced with the permission of Global Freedom of Expression. For an archive of previous newsletters, see here.