A study by Afrobarometer shows that support for a free media in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda is weakening.
The research group found there was greater support for government control of media content in Tanzania, where President John Magufuli’s administration recently required bloggers to get a licence to operate. In Tanzania, 56 percent of respondents to Afrobarometer’s survey said government should have the power to prevent the media from publishing things considered “harmful to society”.
Kenyan and Ugandan respondents demonstrated more support for a free press than those in Tanzania. However the survey indicated there is growing support for government control of media in Kenya and Uganda as well.
Kenya has recently introduced a cyber-crime law that punishes those found to be spreading “false information”. The government also shutdown main TV stations after they defied a directive not to air an opposition event.
The study found Ugandans had the most support for a free media despite continuous state harassment of journalists.
The study was conducted between 2016 and 2017.
