SECTOR 1 1.5 Print publications are not required to obtain permission to publish from state authorities To set up a publication, publishers are required to register with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), in line with the News and Imprint Registration Act of 1971. A nominal fee is payable in this regard. The Act empowers the Minister of ICT to reject registration – however, this has never happened. As is the case with all other registered businesses, registration with the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development is required. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: Score of previous years: ✓✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓ 3.4 2005: n/a; 2007: n/a; 2009: 4.4, 2011: 3.8; 2015: 4.6 1.6 Confidential sources of information are protected by law and/or the courts The only known case of a Namibian journalist being sent to prison for refusing to disclose a source was the arrest of Hannes Smith in the 1990s. Smith had claimed that he knew who the assassins of the late Anton Lubowski were, but refused to give up any names. As a result, he was jailed for a few days. There are no laws in Namibia that force journalists to disclose the names of their sources. However, Section 212 of the 2004 Criminal Procedures Act could potentially be used to order a journalist to reveal their source, as it allows a court to convict a witness for refusing to release information without providing ‘just excuse’. The term ‘just excuse’ is not defined in this Act. Further, there are no laws that explicitly protect confidential sources of information to the media. That said, there are laws such as the Witness Protection Act of 2017 and the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, which provide general protections to those who provide evidence to the authorities: including the AntiCorruption Commission. 14 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2018