Togolese regulator suspends Tampa Express for 3 months for criticizing minister

Dakar, November 7, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Togolese authorities to reverse their three-month suspension of Tampa Express after the bi-monthly newspaper criticized a government minister.

“Togolese authorities must allow Tampa Express to resume publication without delay,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in Durban. “Media regulations should be used to encourage good practice, not to deploy disproportionate punishments or censorship.”

The regulatory High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) said in its November 4 statement, reviewed by CPJ, that it had suspended the privately owned Tampa Express for the publication of false information “without evidence” and repeated violations of ethical conduct.

The HAAC said that Tampa Express’ October 30 report criticized the political influence of Sandra Ablamba Ahoéfavi Johnson, who is Minister, Secretary General of the Presidency and Togo’s Governor at the World Bank. The article also alleged that she blocked the appointment of three people to the HAAC.

Tampa Express publishing director Francisco Napo-Koura told CPJ that the regulator had taken issue with the headline, which described Johnson as the “rising star of the ‘whores’ of the republic.” Napo-Koura said the phrase was a reference to France’s Christine Deviers-Joncour, who had an affair with the country’s foreign minister and wrote a book called “Whore of the Republic.” Both women had significant influence over government policies, he said.

The HAAC said it was the fourth time since 2022 that it had summoned Tampa Express publishing director Francisco Napo-Koura for violating the “professional rules of journalism.”

In 2023, the regulator suspended Tampa Express for three months over a report about alleged corporate mismanagement, following a complaint from the firm’s former general manager.

Napo-Koura told CPJ that he is awaiting a trial date in a defamation case related to the same report, after the trial was postponed on October 9.

HAAC spokesman Patrick Adom referred CPJ to the regulator’s existing decision.

CPJ’s request for comment to the Presidency via its website did not immediately receive a reply.