under Magufuli’s administration. played the role of facilitator and rapporteur. Upon assumption of the presidency, Hassan ordered the reopening of media houses that were shut during the term of her predecessor, the late Magufuli, a development that could lead to the thawing of hitherto soured relations between the authorities and journalists. Speaking at State House in Tanzania on 6 April 2021, President Hassan said Tanzania would no longer be seen as a country that attacks the press and curtails media freedom. Lesotho is due to hold elections in 2022, but towards the end of 2021, there was an escalation of media violations in that country. This points to possible increases in violations in the run-up to the 2022 elections, and the need to focus on the safety and security of journalists. Snapshot of the v iolations: ● ● ● ● ● On 9 November 2021, gunmen attacked the family of veteran journalist, Marafaele Mohloboli, and seriously injured her husband. The motive of the attack is still unknown and the alleged perpetrators are yet to be held accountable. On 14 November 2021, Lebese Molati, from 357FM, was detained and allegedly choked by a police officer after he reported on alleged missing guns. The police who were accused of assaulting and torturing Molati are yet to be brought to book. Commissioner of Police Holomo Molibeli, however, said action would be taken against the police officers who allegedly tortured Molati. On 15 November 2021, Lesotho Times investigative journalist, Mohalenyane Phakela, was barred from covering the courts by Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane for stories published by his paper. The judge said Phakela will not be allowed to report on the courts until his editor apologised. On 17 November 2021, police raided PCFM to interrogate journalist Teboho Ratalane over a story he had reported on. On 18 November 2021, the Lesotho Communications Authority suspended the licence of 357FM on accusations that the station had not complied with regulatory requirements. MISA Regional Programmes a. World Press Freedom Day Commemorations MISA coordinated the Africa Regional Conference ahead of the World Press Freedom Day commemorations. During the 30th anniversary of the World Press Freedom Day Commemorations in Windhoek, Namibia, MISA b. Multi-stakeholder Regional Internet Governance Forum On 4 June 2021, MISA hosted the annual Multistakeholder Regional Internet Governance Forum in Harare. Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe participated during the Forum. The Annual Regional Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance Forum is an opportunity to rally support for a democratic and inclusive internet regulatory framework and to promote the role of the internet in healthy democracies globally. c. Leadership renewal On 4 June 2021, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Governing Council elected its new leadership. The RGC held its meeting in Harare where it elected Golden Maunganidze as its chairperson. He is deputised by Nkoale Ts’oana Joseph, the MISA Lesotho Chairperson, while Salome Kitomary, the MISA Tanzania chairperson was elected Treasurer. Maunganidze took over from Helen Mwale, the former MISA Zambia chairperson. Subsequently, MISA Zimbabwe Director, Tabani Moyo was appointed the Regional Director. d. Digital Rights Literacy Campaigns On 27 July 2021, MISA convened a Digital Rights Literacy Training for youths, women and people with disabilities in Lesotho. A total of 15 participants were in attendance. On 23 September 2021, MISA convened a digital rights literacy training in Lilongwe, Malawi. In attendance were representatives of women organisations, women with HIV/AIDS, youths and people with disabilities from the 12 districts across Malawi. Some of the participants from the Malawi training conducted information sharing meetings in their communities. They were also able to identify digital rights issues as they happened in their communities, which they shared in the WhatsApp group. e. Strategic meeting MISA convened a meeting of eight chapters in Johannesburg, South Africa on 4 October to 7 October 2021 to come up with a regional strategy. The Chapters that were represented were Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Following deliberations, MISA came up with a 3-in-1 strategy that looked at the regional strategy, the advocacy strategy and the communications plan. This is a five-year MISA Regional 2021 Annual 2021 Report 8