custodial sentences or sanctions that are disproportionate, such as excessive fines. The Court ordered Burkina Faso to change its criminal defamation laws and pay compensation to the applicant. This was a landmark ruling with farreaching impact on media freedom in the region as the judgment is binding on African Union member States. On 3 April 2014, journalist Metlhaetsile Leepile, won a long running defamation case against High Court judge Justice Mpaphi Phumaphi. The case was filed thirteen years ago after Justice Phumaphi felt aggrieved by a document written by Leepile. The media industry hailed the court’s progressive decision to dismiss the application and hope it will pave way to more legislative reforms and, ultimately, improved media freedom in Botswana. In December, journalist Cecil Motsepe won his appeal in the Pretoria High Court in South Africa against the criminal defamation conviction handed down to him in June 2013. The conviction related to an article Motsepe, a reporter for the daily newspaper Sowetan, wrote in 2009 investigating alleged racist judgments of a South African magistrate. While the overturned conviction was a victory for Motsepe, the court also ruled defamation as a crime for journalists is in line with South Africa’s constitution – an extremely worrying outcome for media freedom. Media freedom needs to be protected in constitutions, to hold governments accountable and restrictive press laws that are not compatible with the constitutional provisions can be challenged. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION This is another area in which great strides were made in some countries in the region, with both Malawi and Mozambique passing access to information legislation or policies. Malawi produced a promising start to the year, with the Malawi cabinet adopting the Access to Information (ATI) Policy on January 27, 2014. The adoption of this policy closed a chapter that started in 2009 when the government indicated Malawi could not enact ATI legislation without an enabling policy. The ATI Policy provides a framework for enacting and implementing the ATI Bill. On Wednesday, 26 November 2014 freedom of information and human rights activists around the globe and region celebrated the Mozambican Parliament’s passing of an access to information (ATI) Bill. The Bill passed its first reading on 21 August and in November the Assembly of the Republic, during an extraordinary session, unanimously passed the second and final reading of the Bill. This makes Mozambique the fourth southern African country to adopt an access to information law, joining the other 14 countries on the continent that have specifically passed a law guaranteeing the right to access to information. These victories, however, served to highlight the frustrating stagnation in processes to pass access to information legislation; to amend ineffective laws; or to implement existing legislation in other countries. In Zimbabwe, for example, the continued existence of restrictive laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), Criminal Defa- So This is Democracy? 2014 13