STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT 2021 44 environment for the media to operate in a more sustainable manner. JOURNALISTS’ SAFETY AND PROTECTION journalists were physically assaulted, one assault against a newsroom, one case of censorship against journalists, one case of arrest of a journalist, one case of a threat made against journalists and two cases of a legislative nature. In the year 2021, MISA Mozambique registered 23 violations of press freedoms, 10 less than those recorded in 2020. One of the challenges that the country has been facing is lack of action by authorities where crimes are committed against journalists. However, the cases were more severe compared to the previous year largely because of journalists that were caught up in the conflict in the Cabo Delgado region, where Ismalic insurgents have been waging a brutal war since 2017. Only a few cases were handled by the Attorney-General’s Office. On the other hand, it is important to note that in 2022, MISA Mozambique made a revision in the methodology it uses to classify violations by ranking them according to the number of journalists involved. MISA Mozambique registered three events where 15 In 2020, MISA Mozambique reported 33 cases of violations against press freedoms. Part of these cases were linked to the conflict in Cabo-Delgado where a journalist from Palma Radio and Television, Ibraimo Mbaruco was kidnapped. Mbaruco sent a message to colleagues informing them that he was surrounded by soldiers and despite an outcry from several national and international human rights organisations, his whereabouts remain unknown and the government has remained silent about his disappearance. MEDIA INDEPENDENCE Although Mozambique’s Constitution and the press law (18/91) guarantee editorial independence in the public media, there is perception that journalists in those institutions are not allowed to operate independently by politicians. Analysis of coverage during elections and political programming in the public media media, especially the state-owned television and radio stations as well as newspapers show bias towards the ruling FRELIMO party. Restrictive media laws and lack of security guarantees also promote self-censorship in the privately owned media. INTERNET ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4A1) in 2018 put Mozambique’s internet access rate at 20 percent of the population and ranked it 45th out of 58 on A4A1’s 2017 Internet Affordability Enablers Index. (2) With a population of 30.5 million people, Mozambique had a mobile phone penetration rate of about 17.3 percent. About 5.2 million people had access to the internet. Palma Radio and Television journalist Ibraimo Mbaruco is s�ll missing a�er disappearing on April 7, 2020 The high cost of data and expensive gadgets such as smart phones as well as poor services offered by network operators are the major barriers to access to the internet.