AS repression deepens under military rule, Burkinabè journalists continue to resist with courage and conviction—sustaining a legacy of freedom shaped by pioneers and institutions like FILEP and the Norbert Zongo Press Centre.
Today, as the world pauses to mark World Press Freedom Day, we must turn our eyes—and our conscience—toward a region where the pen is under siege, where truth is a dangerous profession, and where the voices that inform, question, and defend democracy are being silenced. We refer to Burkina Faso, a country caught in the crosshairs of insecurity, political transition, and mounting repression of its independent press.
Over the past two years, journalists in Burkina Faso have faced an increasingly suffocating environment. Under the guise of national security and counter-terrorism efforts, authorities have systematically curtailed press freedoms. Foreign correspondents have been expelled. Independent media outlets sanctioned, suspended, or forced to self-censor. Social media harassment and trolling have become common tools to mute dissent and stifle public debate. The Burkinabè public is being deprived of a fundamental right: access to credible, pluralistic, and independent information.
Worse still, journalists who dare to report on sensitive issues—whether corruption, military operations, or human rights abuses—are often harassed, threatened, or detained. On March 26, 2025, the authorities dissolved the Journalists Association of Burkina Faso (AJB)with immediate effect. The decision came a day after the arrest of Guézouma Sanogo, president and Boukari Ouoba, executive member of the association, who earlier denounced the repression of the media since the junta came to power. The duo, alongside journalist Luc Pagbelguem, resurfaced a few days later, in a televised video showing them as conscripted into military service and sent to the war front. The Minister of Territorial Administration, Émile Zerbo, further threatened that: “Anyone who, by any means whatsoever, speech, writing, or any other means, seeks to support or maintain a dissolved association, is liable to sanctions”. The forced conscription of journalists into the military is a practice that seeks to punish individuals and media professionals critical of the government.
In a climate of fear, many are forced to choose between their profession and their safety. The cost of truth-telling has become unbearably high.
Yet, in the face of this adversity, Burkinabè journalists persist. In Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, Kaya, and beyond, they continue to report, investigate, and expose, often at great personal risk. They are the last line of defence against misinformation, authoritarian drift, and societal fragmentation. Their courage is nothing short of heroic.
The media in Burkina Faso continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience. Institutions such as the Norbert Zongo National Press Centre (CNP-NZ), named after Norbert Zongo, the iconic investigative journalist assassinated in 1998, remain vital spaces for solidarity, training, and resistance. Under the committed leadership of Abdoulaye Diallo, the CNP-NZ stands as a bulwark of free expression, even as authorities have branded critical journalism as unpatriotic.
One of the most extraordinary symbols of this resilience has long been FILEP—the Festival International de la Liberté d’Expression et de la Presse. For more than two decades, every two years, FILEP has brought together hundreds of journalists from across Africa and around the world to Ouagadougou to engage in deep reflection and dialogue on the state of press freedom across the continent. It is more than a festival; it is a movement—rooted in solidarity, resistance, and the belief that African journalism must speak truth to power. The 2023 edition of FILEP, chaired by Innoussa Ouédraogo, managing editor of Le Journal Bendré, and long-time advocate for media independence, went ahead against many odds. But under the current military transition, serious questions remain about whether FILEP can ever be held again in its original, open format.
The crackdown has prompted a painful but powerful phenomenon: the exodus of senior journalists from the country, many leaving not out of defeat but as a tactical retreat to preserve their voices. From abroad, they continue to publish, advocate, and expose abuses, refusing to be silenced. Their work should be supported to form a transnational echo of resistance—one that carries the truths of Burkina Faso to the wider world. The courage of these journalists, both those who remain and those in exile, is a testament to the enduring belief in the public’s right to know.
We must also honour those who have built and defended the media legacy of Burkina Faso: Chériff M Sy, founder of the Bendré newspaper, former Speaker of the Transition Parliament, and former President of The African Editors Forum, is one of the most prominent figures in West African media advocacy. Leaders like Jean-Claude Méda, the late Pierre Dabiré, past presidents of the AJB, the towering journalist and former AJB executive member, Boureima Ouédraogo, now publication director of Le Reporter, remind us that Burkina Faso’s journalistic community has never been short on courage or clarity. Their contributions have shaped a legacy that must not be erased by fear or authoritarianism.
Their struggle is not theirs alone. It is a reflection of a broader crisis across West Africa, where coups, armed conflict, and a shrinking civic space have become the new normal. From Mali to Niger, Guinea to Senegal, press freedom is in retreat. But solidarity is our strongest weapon. When one journalist is silenced, the global media community must raise its voice louder.
On this World Press Freedom Day, we reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the journalists of Burkina Faso. We call on the African Union to uphold its commitments to media freedom. We urge the Burkinabè transitional authorities to end censorship, ensure the safety of journalists, and respect the indispensable role of the media in nation-building.
A free press is not a luxury—it is a lifeline. In a region thirsting for peace, justice, and accountability, silencing journalists is not the solution. Empowering them is.
Let us remember that freedom of expression is not just a principle to defend on May 3rd. It is a daily struggle—and one that the world must wage together.
The author Ndey Tapha Sosseh is the founding coordinator of CENOZO, the West African Investigative Journalism Unit; former coordinator of the West African Journalists Association Capacity Building Project; former president of the Gambia Press Union and founding treasurer of the Federation of African Journalists.
