A record number of journalists were killed worldwide in 2024, according to figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) annual report.
At least 124 journalists across 18 countries were killed last year, making it the deadliest year since CPJ started keeping records more than three decades ago.
In sub-Saharan Africa, among the voices silenced were 30-year-old Mozambican blogger and musician Albino Sibia, who went by the nickname Mano Shottas and ran two Facebook pages where he reported on local issues such as crime and poor infrastructure.
In the weeks before his death, Sibia covered protests in the wake of Mozambique’s elections, in which the ruling Frelimo party claimed victory.
On December 12, 2024, some of Sibia’s final words were streamed live on Facebook after he was shot twice in the back by a police officer while filming police actions against protestors over potential water contamination. “Help. I got shot and they keep shooting…I am dying,” he said.
José Chilenge, a protestor, told CPJ he witnessed an officer telling the blogger to stop filming “because there could be no record of what was going to happen next.” But a persistent Sibia did not stop filming. “When the officer realized [Sibia] continued to film, he shot him once, and a second time when he had already fallen to the ground,” Chilenge said.
Sibia’s death is symptomatic of the deterioration in conditions for journalists in Mozambique since the disputed October 2024 elections. During the blogger’s funeral, police shot at a group of journalists, injuring one of them, Pedro Júnior. Another journalist, Arlindo Chissale, has been missing in the restive northern province of Cabo Delgado since January 7.
“Mozambican journalists have paid a heavy price reporting the news amid unrest and a post-election crisis,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo, from Nairobi. “Authorities should ensure accountability in the murder of Albino Sibia and the attack on Pedro Júnior, and credibly investigate Arlindo Chissale’s disappearance.”
GIK/APA