undermining these constitutionally guaranteed rights. Whether by design or fortuitously, the enactment of these cyber security laws followed a SADC Heads of Government Summit in Maputo, Mozambique, in August 2020, where a resolution was made to take “pre-emptive measures against external interference, the impact of fake news and abuse of social media particularly in electoral processes”. MISA Regional Director Tabani Moyo Regional Director ’ s Repor t The year 2021 was a mixed bag for freedom of expression in Southern Africa, with the freedom of expression environment improving in some countries, stagnant in others, while others recorded declines. Malawi led the way with the adoption of its access to information legislation, while Lesotho adopted its long-awaited media policy. In Tanzania, the assumption of the presidency by Samia Sulu Hassan, raised hope for improved relations between the media and the government following a sharp deterioration during the late John Magufuli’s tenure. A change of government in Zambia also brought optimism that the media environment would improve in that country. Despite these improvements, there is need for MISA to remain vigilant, as the media environment in Southern Africa can be very unpredictable and vulnerable to shock developments. The COVID-19 pandemic provided ample illustration on how vulnerable the rights to freedom of the media and freedom of expression are in the region as a number of countries enacted legislation that infringed on these rights. The enactment of legislation to curb the spread of the coronavirus saw an increase in media violations across the region, with literally no country spared. MISA’s position is that the COVID-19 pandemic is on the decline and it is imperative for all the SADC countries to now repeal, or come up with a roadmap of when they will repeal legislation that curtails freedom of the media and freedom of expression which was enacted ostensibly to mitigate the spread of the virus. The fragility of freedom of expression and freedom of the media comes at a time when most countries in the region have either enacted or are in the process of enacting cybersecurity laws, which have the potential of In the wake of this resolution, there is a seemingly frightening regional consensus to crackdown on free expression online. Countries such as Botswana, Eswatini, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, have already passed cyber security and cybercrime laws, while Lesotho is in the process of crafting legislation on cyber security and cybercrime. Namibia is also working on a similar law. MISA acknowledges that cyber security laws are important, but that countries need to adopt a humanbased approach, where emphasis is on promoting freedom of expression and digital rights, rather than criminalising it. In that regard, the issue of internet shutdowns also continues to be problematic in the region. Tanzania implemented a partial shutdown of the internet in 2020 ahead of its general elections and this continued well into 2021. During elections in August 2021, the government of Zambia blocked access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and instant messaging platform, WhatsApp. In 2021, the Kingdom of Eswatini blocked access to the internet, on at least three occasions, following unrests in that country. One of the characteristics of 2021 was that civic space continued to shrink, with Zimbabwe and Malawi being cases in point, with the two countries formulating legislation to govern the operations of civil society organisations. These legislations have a chilling effect on freedom of association and of expression. While the operating environment in the region was difficult, the silver lining on the dark cloud is that MISA found its footing as a thought leader in terms of lobby and advocacy for freedom of expression in Southern Africa. In the past year, MISA embarked on a process of rejuvenating the regional network, which is a critical step in the continuous fulfilment of the organisation’s MISA Regional 2021 Annual 2021 Report 4