fishing quotas to Icelandic company Samherji in return for kickbacks. (22) Venaani said: “It is inexcusable that the government sings the old song of insufficient funds to operationalise this office, despite the law being passed over five years ago.” The presidential press secretary questioned the timing of the reportage of the scandal, a few weeks before the 2019 presidential poll. Namibia’s Access to Information Bill has been officially enacted into law by Parliament and was gazetted on 28 December 2022. Despite these differences, President Geingob did not use raw power or the institutions of the State to clamp down on further scrutiny into his role in the scandal. So by 2023, Namibia had effectively joined the ranks of the 25 African countries that have access to information laws in place. It is also not clear whether the same situation will prevail in the event that a new administration comes to power after the November 27 elections as candidates have also said very little about media freedoms in their campaigns. Sexual harassment of women journalists online and offline Ndjebela says President Geingob’s successors will have to keep up with his standards on press freedoms, adding that it is too early to see this commitment in the acting president. Namibia has a difficult history of gender-based violence since its founding in the early 90s, and this has spilled over into the newsrooms. Legal and political developments affecting media freedom The year 2023 saw the Namibia Media Professionals Union (NAMPU) reporting that interns were being promised full time contracts by senior staff if they consented to sexual favours. The Namibian newspaper, the largest newspaper in the country, was not spared from the accusations. Namibia’s legal system has leaned towards creating strong constitutional safeguards to protect journalists, sources and enhance access to information. In September last year, The Namibian refuted claims suggesting it had become a breeding ground for sexual abuse and exploitation of interns and junior reporters. (23) One of the progressive reforms under the Geingob administration was the promulgation of the Whistleblowers Protection Act 10 in October 2017, which remains inactive due to insufficient funding. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief Tangeni Amupadhi criticised the acting secretary general of Nampu, Jemima Beukes, for adopting a sensational approach and catering to public sentiment, rather than addressing the root cause of the issue. (24) The legislation mandates the establishment of a whistleblower protection office tasked with investigating reports of improper conduct and instances of retaliation against individuals disclosing information related to corruption and misconduct. Namibia is yet to see the full operationalisation of the Whistleblowers Act. However, this led to the newspaper drafting and birthing a comprehensive sexual harassment policy to deal with instances of sexual violence and misconduct. According to Justice minister Yvonne Dausab in September last year, establishing an operational witness protection unit office needs an annual budget of N$160 million. This development was not announced by the paper to the public and thus did not receive media spotlight. Subsequently, this has raised concern as to whether this money will be made available in Namibia’s national budget in the financial year 2024/2025. Journalist, Shelleygan Petersen, says while The Namibian’s sexual harassment policy seeks to protect journalists against future misconduct, it failed to address the allegations made at the time. Speaking in Parliament in September last year, leader of the official opposition party, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), McHenry STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 2023 “This is a difficult question because one, you 66