Concern over Maputo’s deportation of editor

The expulsion of prominent journalist Tom Bowker by the Mozambican Government is an unashamed attempt to silence the media and restrict the right to freedom of expression in that country. That’s the view of the Southern African Editors Forum (Saef) which notes that journalists and other media workers continue to be arrested, detained, abducted or assaulted ‘while conducting their lawful professional duties’ in Mozambique. A report on the News24 site notes that Bowker, who is editor of Zitamar, was deported on Tuesday. ‘Expelled from Mozambique and banned for 10 years. A politically motivated move, without legal foundation,’ he tweeted. The UK national is credited for covering the civil war in Cabo Delgado and exposing the looting of national resources by the elite class. Bowker says he was expelled for allegedly receiving accreditation as a foreign correspondent on false pretences. ‘There is no press registration in the UK, and anyone can publish,’ Saef said.