Africa 24 condemned Monday the suspension of its news channel by Guinea’s media regulator ahead of this week’s presidential polls, which junta strongman Mamady Doumbouya is almost certain to win.
With all main opposition barred, Guineans are set to vote Sunday in an election intended to mark the end of a transition back to constitutional rule after a 2021 coup that brought the junta to power.
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In a statement late Sunday, media regulator HAC accused Africa 24 of “operating illegally” by broadcasting several news pieces on the election campaign without prior authorisation.
While several domestic outlets have been suspended in recent years, Africa 24, is the first international media to be taken off the air by the authorities.
The media group condemned the move as an “abusive action” in a Monday statement, saying it “has not deployed any resources” on Guinean territory to cover the 2025 presidential campaign since December 14, due to a lack of authorisation.
The media group said it had conducted interviews in the country before the mandatory accreditation period and after notifying the HAC in advance.
Reports aired since then on its channel have come “almost exclusively from the video services of each presidential candidate” and from news agency footage.
Africa 24 operates four tv channels, including French- and English-language channels covering on news across the continent.
The junta in power is regularly accused of restricting press freedom, by blocking outlets or arresting journalists.
Habib Marouane Camara, editor of the Lerevelateur224 news site, has been missing since December 2024, after what the Reporters Without Borders NGO has said was an “abduction”.
Doumbouya has cracked down on civil liberties, and the junta has banned protests since 2022 and has arrested, put on trial or driven to exile many opponents. Reports of enforced disappearances have multiplied in recent years.
Despite repeated promises to hand back power to civilians at the end of a transition period, Doumbouya looks set to consolidate his grip on power in Sunday’s vote.
AFP