Decriminalize laws limiting freedom of expression, don charges African leaders

A commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression in Africa, Ms Faith Pansy Tlakula, has called for the decriminalization of laws limiting freedom of expression in Africa. She stated this while delivering the 2015 edition of the Dr. Felix Okoye memorial lecture series organised […]

A commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression in Africa, Ms Faith Pansy Tlakula, has called for the decriminalization of laws limiting freedom of expression in Africa.
She stated this while delivering the 2015 edition of the Dr. Felix Okoye memorial lecture series organised by the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies ( NIALS )entitled “Open Government, Democracy and Human Rights: Best Practices for African Governments”, which took place at the YarAdua Centre, Abuja, recently.
Tlakula said that there exists  a plethora of laws criminalising freedom of expression in most African countries.
These laws which are relics of colonial times and have been retained, according to her, include criminal defamation, criminal  libel, sedition,  insult to President/ Head of State and publication of false news.
She said that while many governments justify the continued maintenance of these laws on grounds such as protecting national security and the right to privacy, in reality, this is rarely the motivation for their use.
“Rather, these laws are routinely utilised to stifle public debate and legitimate criticism on issues of national interest such as corruption, lack of respect for rule of law and poor service delivery,” she said.
She also said that the public disclosure of assets by public officials goes a long way in acting as deterrence against corruption and empowering citizens to ensure accountability of public officials.
Tlakula is the chancellor of Vaal University of Technology in South Africa and works for the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, where she acts as special rapporteur on freedom of expression. She  has defended the empowerment of women and insisted that moves towards equality not exclude the rights of women.