17 SOUTHERN AFRICA PRESS FREEDOM REPORT 2019-2020 for three days. Muchehiwa was only released after MISA Zimbabwe filed a habeas corpus appeal, with a judge ordering that the state present him to court within 48 hours. The media in Zimbabwe also suffered financial setbacks, which led the chairperson of MISA Zimbabwe Golden Maunganidze, to write to the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, requesting the government to come up with a media sustainability bailout package, proposing tax exemptions and moratoriums on newsprint and other mass media production and distribution equipment. Tanzania’s restrictions on media and freedom of expression during the pandemic have been dire, expounded by the denial of Covid-19 by the late former President Pombe Magufli, whose government unnecessarily controlled the release of any Covid-19 related information. In April 2020, The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority issued a notice banning the Mwananchi newspaper for six months under the old Online Content Regulations of 2018, for allegedly publishing false and misleading information on Covid-19, further fining it US$2 175. A search for the newspaper’s website displays that “we are unavailable”. The Regulatory Authority also suspended Kwanza Online TV on July 9, 2020, for 11 months, for publishing on its Instagram page a US embassy report depicting Tanzania’s Covid-19 situation. In April 2020, Ibrahim Bukuku, a first-year student at the University of Dodoma and resident of Nyasa district in Ruvuma region was arrested and charged for allegedly disseminating false and misleading information through a WhatsApp group about an alleged cure for Covid-19. Similarly, Albert Msando, a prominent lawyer in the Arusha region, was arrested on 28 April 2020 for his remarks about the worsening coronavirus situation in Arusha. Msando was interrogated by the police and later charged for misinformation. His arrest came only hours after Arusha Regional Commissioner Mrisho Gambo had directed the police force to arrest any citizen disseminating conflicting public information on Covid-19. In May 2020, two journalists, Kaleria Shadrack and Clinton Isimbu of Kenyan based Elimu TV were arraigned by the police in Arusha for illegal entry and working without proper permits. The two journalists were arrested while interviewing local residents on the status of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. They were temporarily detained at the Longido police station and later charged in court. They pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay a fine or serve a three-year jail term. ASSESSMENT Under Principle 22 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, States are urged to review all criminal restrictions of content to ensure that they are justifiable and compatible with international human rights law and standards and to repeal laws that criminalise sedition, insult and publication of false news. However, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania imposed criminal sanctions for reporting the pandemic, and in some cases incarcerated journalists for publishing false news, falling short on Principle 22. The Declaration emphasises in Principle 19 the right to express oneself through the media by practising journalism, which shall not be subject to undue legal restrictions. Due to the economic hardships caused by the pandemic, States are called upon, under Principle 24 of the Declaration, in such circumstances, to promote a conducive economic environment in which all media can flourish, including through the adoption of policies for the provision of financial or other public support for the sustainability of all media through a fair, neutral, independent and transparent process, and based on objective criteria. MEDIA AND GENDER In Malawi, sexual harassment in the newsroom is a growing concern, with reports of women being forced into relationships or risk losing their jobs. MISA Malawi together with the Association of Women in Media and Women Lawyers Association have teamed up to support and empower female journalists to fight sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace. The initiative involves commencing both criminal and civil proceedings against the perpetrators as one way of ensuring a conducive working environment for women. In Namibia, despite its conducive environment for the practice of journalism as earlier highlighted, women are under-represented in senior management of media houses where male journalists dominate leadership roles. It is also reported that female journalists are significantly underpaid compared to their male colleagues, compounded by anecdotal evidence of entrenched misogyny leading to a toxic culture