Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

are brought to book. It seems logical
that those interested in fighting
corruption should help to bolster a
strong, independent media by protecting
press freedom, improving
access to information or even directly
supporting journalist training
initiatives.
Donor countries have recognised
<strong>the</strong> importance of access to
information – by journalists and <strong>the</strong>
public – as a means of combating
corruption. In March 2010, <strong>after</strong> a
series of corruption scandals broke
in Kenya, officials from 20 European
Union countries warned <strong>the</strong> country
that <strong>the</strong>y would not market it to
outside investors unless officials
proved <strong>the</strong>y were serious about
fighting corruption. Among <strong>the</strong>
recommended actions was a call for
a Freedom of Information bill to be
passed.
Corruption is a pressing public
concern: <strong>the</strong> BBC World Service
recently released a poll showing
that corruption is <strong>the</strong> world’s mostdiscussed
problem. Respondents in
Kenya and Nigeria said <strong>the</strong>y had
discussed corruption with friends
and family over <strong>the</strong> past month at
rates of 63 percent and 49 percent,
respectively. Globally, corruption is
seen as <strong>the</strong> second biggest problem
<strong>after</strong> extreme poverty.
In reaction to <strong>the</strong> consensus at
home and abroad that corruption
must be stopped, government
officials are speaking up against
corruption. But though <strong>the</strong>re has
been some prosecution of corrupt
officials and <strong>the</strong> restitution of
funds, <strong>the</strong> journalists who report
on corruption or who help sustain
political pressure in a particular
case of alleged corruption may
none<strong>the</strong>less find <strong>the</strong>mselves in hot
water.
The pattern is repeated in countries
around Africa and <strong>the</strong> rest of <strong>the</strong>
world: public officials proclaim <strong>the</strong>ir
commitment to transparency but
crack down on <strong>the</strong> journalists who
56 | Media in Africa - 2011
demand it – using national security,
criminal libel or contempt of court
laws. Journalists are also subject
to intimidation and harassment by
police and political party supporters,
and media houses are sometimes
raided and <strong>the</strong>ir equipment
confiscated.
It goes without saying that attacks
on journalists, raids and equipment
seizures must end. But governments
that are serious about combating
corruption must also stop
prosecuting journalists who report
on corruption involving police,
public officials or o<strong>the</strong>r members
of <strong>the</strong> state apparatus. Even when
<strong>the</strong>se prosecutions don’t succeed –
which <strong>the</strong>y often do not – <strong>the</strong>y serve
as a form of harassment which costs
media houses time and money.
“As a consequence of
<strong>the</strong> threats, attacks
and prosecutions,
many journalists
stay away from
‘hot’ topics such as
corruption.”
Fur<strong>the</strong>r, journalists must be allowed
to comment on ongoing court cases
dealing with corruption – as judicial
corruption is a serious barrier to
<strong>the</strong> prosecution of o<strong>the</strong>r kinds of
corruption.
Legislation that provides access to
information is often lacking, and
should be implemented.
In <strong>the</strong> same way that police officers,
judges and o<strong>the</strong>r public servants
who do not receive an adequate
wage feel <strong>the</strong>y need to seek bribes,
journalists in many countries receive
little or no compensation for <strong>the</strong>ir
work which can lead to payment
for favourable articles or silence.
Obviously, if <strong>the</strong>re is corruption
within <strong>the</strong> judiciary and <strong>the</strong> media –
<strong>the</strong> institutions on which we rely on
to hold politicians and corporations
accountable – efforts to beat
corruption will be compromised.
As a consequence of <strong>the</strong> threats,
attacks and prosecutions, many
journalists stay away from ‘hot’
topics such as corruption.
Media houses also need resources,
especially time, and journalists
with special skills to carry out
accountability reporting. IPI recently
began a corruption reporting survey
among journalists. To date, most
African respondents have written
that more training is required if
<strong>the</strong> media is to effectively play its
role in exposing corruption. O<strong>the</strong>r
issues raised include <strong>the</strong> need for
corruption accusations to be depoliticised
and for <strong>the</strong>re to be more
‘independent information’ on which
to base reports.
Gwen Lister, founder and editor of
The Namibian in <strong>Windhoek</strong>, said in
a written interview with IPI about
<strong>the</strong> state of corruption reporting in
Namibia: “I’d like to see a lot more
serious and in-depth reporting,
ra<strong>the</strong>r than isolated instances of
reporting on corruption.” She added:
“Apart from skills, we often lack <strong>the</strong>
resources in terms of time to spend
on such investigations. For <strong>the</strong>re to
be an improvement we would also
need journalists who specialise in
specific areas, such as financial/
economics reporting.”
To reveal some of <strong>the</strong> most egregious,
high-level cases of corruption, it may
be necessary for journalists to be
keyed in across national boundaries,
too. Organisations like FAIR (Forum
for African Investigative Reporters)
have recognised this, and FAIR
recently published an investigation
into football corruption that
included reporting from several
different African countries – an
attempt to look for patterns of
corruption across <strong>the</strong> region.
There is reason for optimism that
<strong>the</strong> next 20 <strong>years</strong> will see a rollback