A recent monitoring report released by the International Press Institute (IPI) has revealed that journalists across Africa who investigate illegal mining, deforestation, oil deals and land grabs are being assaulted, arrested, threatened with prosecution, and even targeted with attempted killings, with state security forces, powerful companies and armed groups colluding to silence critical environmental reporting.
The report, covering October 2025 and March 2026, was released by the International Press Institute (IPI) and made available to ASHENEWS on Monday. READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
According to the report, IPI documented 26 incidents of attacks, arrests and intimidation against reporters covering climate and environmental issues in sub‑Saharan Africa, reinforcing a pattern seen in earlier monitoring: beats focused on natural resources and land remain among the most dangerous in the region.
Key findings: who is at risk, and why
IPI’s latest monitoring report shows that journalists digging into natural resource exploitation — especially illegal mining, logging and oil management — face the highest levels of risk. Reporters investigating how mismanagement of oil, minerals and forests affects communities in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana and Mozambique were met with physical assaults, threats and arrests.
Those covering land and water management — including forced evictions, mining‑related land degradation and dam operations — also faced harassment, often when reporting on how such projects disrupt local livelihoods. The forms of pressure range from beatings and equipment confiscation to judicial gag orders, criminal charges and prolonged detention. Two journalists arrested during the period remained in custody at the time of reporting, including Zimbabwe’s Gideon Madikatidze, held on “cyberbullying” and licensing charges after exposing alleged corruption in a multi‑million‑dollar waste‑to‑energy contract.
State actors, particularly police and security services, remain the main source of threats, but the report underlines a more complex picture: local and foreign companies, rebel groups and even community members have also been implicated, reflecting a nexus of interests around resource extraction in contexts marked by conflict and weak rule of law.
DRC: mining, militias and military prisons
In the DRC’s mineral‑rich east, environmental reporting intersects with armed conflict and illegal mining. After a January 2026 landslide in the Rubaya coltan mining area killed hundreds, the M23 rebel group barred journalists from accessing the site. In Kolwezi, broadcaster Stephane Shisso was arrested in January 2026 by a presidential cybersecurity unit after airing a video on land degradation and erosion linked to coltan mining; he has been held for months in a military prison without formal charges, while his colleague Guelord Shamba fled into self‑exile.
Separately, in Lomani province, the mayor’s office officials threatened journalist Michale Tanende — including against his family — after he reported on poor waste management and unsanitary conditions around the mayor’s residence.
Ghana: “galamsey” violence and judicial gag orders
IPI also found in Ghana that the coverage of illegal small‑scale gold mining (“galamsey”) has repeatedly triggered violence against journalists. In November 2025, at a site in Obuasi, illegal miners attacked at least five reporters and Environmental Protection Agency officers, causing serious injuries — including a broken leg — in a road accident as the team fled. In January 2026, Daily Graphics correspondent Timothy Ngnenbe and his camera operator were ambushed by armed miners in the Offin Shelterbelt Forest Reserve, forced to delete images and footage before being released.
Beyond physical attacks, Ghanaian courts have issued gag orders to block investigative reporting on land deals. In November 2025, Justice Nana Brew permanently barred journalist Innocent Samuel Appiah from publishing a story alleging that businesswoman Cynthia Adjei used political connections to secure land and evade taxes, ruling that the investigation violated her privacy and fined Appiah 10,000 cedi.
Mozambique: attempted killing over illegal mining probe
In Mozambique, the stakes are lethal. On 4 February 2026, unknown assailants in police uniforms shot at the vehicle of Carlitos Cadangue of SOICO Television as he drove home in Chimoio, Manica province. The attempted killing is linked to his reporting on illegal mining and pollution that prompted a temporary government mining ban. Investigative journalist Estacio Valoi has also faced sustained intimidation from timber company Safi Timber, which sent threatening emails to him and partner outlets over his reports on the alleged smuggling of timber to China.
Somalia, Tanzania, Togo: protests, drought and development disputes
In Somalia, police repeatedly assaulted and detained journalists covering protests against forced evictions and land grabs tied to politically connected figures, confiscating equipment and threatening reprisals. In Tanzania, two Lumeni Radio journalists were detained on orders from a district commissioner after reporting on rising water levels in a local dam, accused of “causing public fear”. In Togo, online journalist Roger Amemavoh received death threats and was summoned by the media regulator after an investigation into land access and construction disputes in the Laté Kopé area.
Chad, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe: oil, gold and waste‑to‑energy
In Chad, Dikoua Innocent was arrested and held for three days after a TikTok post criticising the management of the country’s oil assets; he was warned of possible future prosecution. In Namibia, Jemmima Beukes of The Whistle was forcibly removed from State House and threatened with arrest after asking President Netumbo Nandi‑Ndaitwah about her family’s alleged involvement in the oil sector. In Kenya, TV/Radio 47’s Violet Auma and colleagues were attacked by community members protesting home demolitions for a gold mining project in Kakamega County. In Zimbabwe, Gideon Madikatidze spent nearly three months in detention on cyberbullying and broadcasting charges after exposing alleged corruption in a government waste‑to‑energy deal.
Why environmental reporting is a watchdog beat
The IPI report stresses that many of these cases are not just “environmental” stories but corruption and accountability investigations with direct impacts on communities. Reporting on how resources are extracted, land is allocated, and contracts are awarded is central to democratic oversight, yet it provokes backlash from actors who benefit from opacity and impunity.
At the same time, Africa’s escalating climate and environmental crises — from droughts and floods to resource‑driven conflicts — make independent journalism more urgent, not less. Yet the data show a consistent pattern: journalists who expose abuses in mining, logging, oil and land deals are punished through a mix of violence, legal harassment and regulatory pressure.
Risks increasingly codified in law
The IPI report also highlights how cybercrime and media laws are being weaponised against environmental watchdogs. In Zimbabwe, Madikatidze’s prosecution under broadcasting and criminal laws mirrors regional trends where “false information” and cyber offences are used to criminalise critical reporting. In other countries, new media regulatory frameworks grant authorities broad powers to suspend outlets or block content, raising fears of further chilling effects on environmental journalism.
What the data say about the earlier period
IPI’s current findings build on earlier monitoring from March to September 2025, which documented 19 cases of threats and violations against journalists covering mining, industrial projects and land disputes, with the highest numbers in the DRC and Somalia. That earlier report already pointed to a troubling pattern of collusion between state authorities and powerful corporate interests — including foreign companies, notably Chinese‑owned firms — to silence reporters exposing abuses that affect local communities.
Taken together, the two monitoring periods show that across at least a year, African journalists on resource and land beats have faced sustained, multi‑form pressure precisely because their work threatens entrenched economic and political interests.
