PRESIDENTIAL press secretary Alfredo Hengari has been cited in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index for his “verbal attacks” on journalists.
Namibia dropped a spot down in the rankings, from 23 in 2020 to 24 in 2021, but maintained its number one spot in Africa.
“Verbal attacks against journalists are not uncommon in Namibia and, in 2020, some journalists objected to the verbal attacks they had been receiving from the president’s spokesperson.
“In 2020, several reporters were also briefly arrested, a Namibia Press Agency reporter was given a warning after putting a question to the president, and many media outlets were barred from governmental press conferences on the coronavirus crisis,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in the report.
Hengari said journalists who claim to have been verbally attacked must be specific about those incidents.
“These are invented claims based on their inability and intolerance to accept contradictory views. It is not how democracy works. The press is not a holy cow beyond critique and correction when it is untruthful,” he said.
The index ranks 180 countries according to the level of press freedom available to journalists.
The RSF said Namibia has real press freedom but frequent threats. It also said press freedom has a firm hold in Namibia, Africa’s best-ranked country since 2019, and enjoys solid guarantees.
However, RSF stated that Namibia’s legal framework could be improved by the promulgation of a long-promised law on access to state-held information.
The RSF also indicated that pro-government media has meanwhile been getting more than their fair share of revenue available from advertising, which is threatening the financial prospects of the privately owned media and independent news coverage.
One of the champions for World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) 2021, Toivo Ndjebela, said Namibia maintaining the top spot in Africa ahead of the WPFD and the 30th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration comes as no surprise.
He said the ranking speaks of a long journey Namibia has had in the context of press freedom. He, however, said dropping a spot in the global ranks also comes as no surprise and it is concerning that globally the country is still not improving.
Ndjebela added that for Namibia to improve, the government must allow for fair competition between state media and privately owned media when it comes to making government information available.
The press freedom champion also said Namibia needs to adopt the access to information law as a functioning legislation.
“It would also be good for the gap to be narrowed between the press and key government offices, especially addressing the friction between the State House press office and the media,” he noted.
Editors Forum of Namibia secretary general Ronelle Rademeyer said for Namibia to move a spot down in terms of the global rankings was expected with what transpired in 2020.
She added that Namibia should strive to improve its global ranking and not only aim to retain its top spot in Africa.
Hengari said Namibia’s press freedom ranking is a demonstration of the commitment of president Hage Geingob to the ideals of a free press.
“This commitment is informed by the emphasis on effective governance, underpinned by our democratic values, processes, systems and institutions. A press that is free and reports on facts is a vital component in our democracy,” he added.
