MFWA Calls for Urgent Action to Protect Press Freedom in Sahel’s Military-Run States
Sahel Leadership; Captain Ibrahim Traore (Burkina Faso), General Assimi Goita (Mali), General Abdourahamane Tchiani (Niger) and General Mamdy Doumbouya © MFWA
Mapping shrinking civic space in West Africa’s military-led States - Part 2
By Media Foundation for West Africa, published on 21st July 2025
To avoid retaliation from military authorities, critical voices in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Guinea are increasingly forced into silence. A climate of fear prevails, with prominent figures choosing discretion over outspokenness in the face of repression.
Across these four countries, military regimes are tightening their grip on power through systematic crackdowns on press freedom and freedom of expression. This Week in the Sahel puts the spotlight back on the shrinking civic space and the fragility of free expression under military rule.
In this edition, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) dissects recent developments that illustrate the region’s growing drift from democratic norms and civic liberties.
In Mali, the Haute Autorité de la Communication (HAC) on July 2, 2025, allocated 94 radio and 14 television licenses without consultation with stakeholders such as the Maison de la Presse or professional media organisations. Many of the awarded frequencies reportedly went to influencers and activists sympathetic to the military junta, raising concerns over the politicisation of the media landscape.
The clampdown on dissent in Mali continues. Former Prime Minister Moussa Mara, a vocal political figure and civil society advocate, was summoned for questioning on two consecutive days by three law enforcement agencies. Some reports suggest the interrogations are tied to his media appearances, during which he criticised the ruling junta’s policies.
Another troubling development came with the sentencing of journalist Seydou Oumar Traoré. On July 14, 2025, he was handed a six-month prison term and fined one million CFA francs (about USD 1,650). The journalist who is also the director of Radio Baoulé had suggested that Guinea was being used as a rear base by armed groups hostile to Mali, and accused certain Guinean military officials, in particular the head of state, General Mamady Doumbouya. Despite releasing a video apologising for his comments, he was prosecuted for insulting a foreign head of state.
Burkina Faso Leader Captain Ibrahim Traore © WADR
Meanwhile, the Burkina Faso junta’s opaque governance and crackdown on expression continue unchecked, raising alarms about the future of fundamental rights in the country. Coverage of arbitrary arrests of journalists, civil society actors, and opposition figures is virtually non-existent. Independent reporting on these detentions is scarce, as fear and censorship deepen.
In Niger, journalist Moussa Adamou Garba of Dounia Radio and Television was released on July 4, 2025, after more than two weeks in detention. All charges against him were dropped. Garba was arrested on June 20 after publishing a report on the disappearance of four young girls in Maradi. Rather than investigate the disturbing trend, authorities detained the journalist.
Faced with the harsh reality of the recent arrests of journalists and an environment of repression, a group of journalists in Niger have found the best refuge of the moment in the creation of a pro-military consortium, committed to covering the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). In its launch press release, the organisation stated that: ‘The military in power have demonstrated their ability to govern, to secure the territory and to restore hope’.
Heads of state of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso at the First Summit of Alliance of Sahel States © Peoples Dispatch
In Guinea, July 9 marked one year since the abduction of two prominent civic activists: Oumar Sylla (alias Foniké Mengué), national coordinator of the Front National pour la Défense de la Constitution (FNDC), and Mamadou Billo Bah, FNDC’s mobilisation lead and country coordinator for Tournons La Page Guinée. The pair were forcibly disappeared during a peaceful protest against media censorship, an act that still casts a shadow over Guinea’s civic space.
The MFWA urge media freedom advocates, human rights organisations, civil society actors, ECOWAS, AU, and international partners to take steps to counter this growing assault on free expression and civic space in the Sahel. Without swift and coordinated intervention, the region risks falling further into authoritarianism, with profound consequences for democratic governance and regional stability.
