11 SOUTHERN AFRICA PRESS FREEDOM REPORT 2019-2020 journalists Dick Shumba, Isaac Jali and William Zare with metal bars at Mponela in Dowa, while covering the campaign tour of then DPP and UDF Alliance running mate Atupele Muluzi. Other issues brought to the fore also included threats made by members of Parliament in February 2020 to beat up journalists accused of being spies and agents of the opposition, barring them from interviewing the Leader of the House and deleting footage of the proceedings of the House. MISA also called out the Malawi Police’s continued assault of journalists, and arrests for covering the arrival of the European Union Elections Observer Delegation without permission. In 2020, about 32 violations of media rights were reported in Mozambique, linked to the military conflicts in Cabo Delgado. Ibraimo Mbaruco, a journalist working with Palma radio and television, was reportedly abducted by security forces for his coverage of the conflict. His whereabouts still remain unknown. Another journalist, Amade Abubacar was arrested by soldiers, kept incommunicado for eleven days in violation of the “48-hour rule” and allegedly tortured, before being presented to an investigating magistrate, where he was accused of “possessing a list of names of youth who operate with Al-Shabaab”. He was denied legal representation, however, MISA Mozambique fought for his release on bail in April 2019, although he continues to face several The offices of independent newspaper Canal de Moçambique after an arson attack August 23, 2020, in Maputo CREDIT: CANAL DE MOÇAMBIQUE restrictions. In September 2020, Luciano da Conceição, a correspondent of DW in Inhambane, was apparently kidnapped and badly assaulted, his identity documents, two mobile phones, and a tape recorder taken. His assailants allegedly gave him a stern warning against his reporting. In August 2020, unidentified individuals attacked and set ablaze weekly paper Canal de Mocambique, known for its critical coverage of state excesses. An attempt had also been made to kidnap its editor, Matias Guente, on 31 December 2019. The paper is under investigation for violating “state secrets” due to its publication of a series of reports exposing apparently illegal contracts linking the former defence and interior ministers to security and protection contracts for petroleum companies in Cabo Delgado, where the military insurgency is taking place. In Zambia, several attacks against journalists and media were recorded. On January 29, 2019, Prime TV journalists Njenje Chizu and Toliwe Banda Chanda were sent away from a briefing by the ruling Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila from the party secretariat, on accusations of “not covering the party”. In May 2019, Tobias Daka, a journalist with Radio Maria Zambia was attacked and harassed by Patriotic Front party supporters after he participated in a political talk-show. Several other journalists were attacked between July 2019 and January 2020 for their coverage, or lack thereof, of different stories.