Photojournalists under fire Reflecting on 2014 From the office of the Regional Director Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Media Institute of Southern Africa’s (MISA) flagship publication, So This Is Democracy?: State of Media Freedom in Southern Africa. Each year, MISA produces this report based on our daily monitoring of media freedom victories and violations occurring in the 11 Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries within which MISA operates. This report is a core part of our work as the leading advocate for free expression in the southern African region and informs our campaigns and initiatives as we work toward our vision of a southern Africa where everyone enjoys freedom of expression and pluralism of views and opinions. It is with great sadness, therefore, that I report yet another year stained with the blood of journalists physically attacked and, in one case, killed in the course of doing their jobs. On 13 January 2014, police shot dead freelance journalist, Michael Tsele, in the North West of South Africa, where he was covering a local protest against the community’s lack of water and sanitation services. While the official investigation concluded Tshele was likely caught in the crossfire between protestors and police, community members say police shot Tshele because he was taking photographs. I express our outrage over the continued obstruction of media freedom and free expression in the SADC region, demonstrated by restrictive legislation, misuse of legislation like criminal defamation laws, unwillingness to pass positive media policies and legislation, and violations perpetrated against media workers and activists. This is the most extreme example, but there were many more incidents of attacks, threats and harassment perpetrated primarily by police and government authorities toward media workers. And, in So This is Democracy? 2014 3