2018 has been a year of grief for many journalists and the news fraternity who faced attacks, imprisonment and murder for doing their work as journalists and media workers.
According to the annual report of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 53 journalists have been killed in 2018 and this number represents those killed with a confirmed motive. 23 others were killed due to an unconfirmed motive.
For Reporters Without Borders, at least 63 journalists were killed doing their jobs in 2018, a 15 percent increase over last year. The United States was mentioned as the latest addition to the world’s five deadliest countries for journalists where there is no war or conflict.
The most intriguing murder in 2018 was the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He was killed in October inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, a year after he moved to the United States and began writing for The Washington Post.
His death further exposed the rot in the Saudi Kingdom he’s been writing about which the main suspect of his killing, Mohammed bin Salman, is accused of being the mastermind.
Meanwhile, other journalists in Africa were killed for the same reasons as Khashoggi – for doing their jobs and exposing the ills of their communities as well as those behind them.
As compiled by the CPJ, here are the two African journalists who were killed in 2018 for doing their job.
His death further exposed the rot in the Saudi Kingdom he’s been writing about which the main suspect of his killing, Mohammed bin Salman, is accused of being the mastermind.
Meanwhile, other journalists in Africa were killed for the same reasons as Khashoggi – for doing their jobs and exposing the ills of their communities as well as those behind them.
As compiled by the CPJ, here are the two African journalists who were killed in 2018 for doing their job.
24-year-old Musa Abdul Kareem was an editor and photojournalist for the local newspaper, Fasanea. He was abducted and killed on July 31, 2018.
According to the Libyan Center for Freedom of the Press, armed, masked men in two civilian vehicles captured Abdul Kareem after he left his home.
An unidentified passerby found the journalist’s body hours later, blindfolded and hands bound, near the Sabha Health Institute and notified local security forces.
His body had 13 bullet wounds and bore signs of torture, according to the privately owned TV station Al-Nabaa, which quoted Osama al-Wafi, a spokesperson for the Sabha Medical Center.
The last story he wrote was an article he co-authored for Fasanea three weeks before his death that detailed kidnappings and robberies in the city.
No one has been arrested in connection with his killing and the case is still under investigation.
Abdullahi Mire Hashi was gunned down by at least two men on October 27, 2018, in the town of Elisha Bihaya, about 17 km from the Somali capital Mogadishu, according to reports.
The radio journalist was a producer and show host on the privately owned religious station Darul Sunnah.
According to reports, he was shot after attending afternoon prayers at a mosque near his radio station. Abdullahi was “shot twice on the head by unidentified men with pistols,” said a report by HRJ.
The gunmen fled the scene immediately after the attack and Abdullahi died on the way to the hospital after sustaining injuries to his head and his chest.
Local journalists have said Abdullahi had received anonymous phone calls questioning why his station was not broadcasting the militant group Al-Shabaab’s operations in the region.
No one has been arrested as of December 2018 in connection to Abdullahi’s murder.
This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com
Ismail Akwei 