Anti-Corruption Tabloid Journalism in Africa

Brian discusses anti-corruption tabloid journalism practice in Zambia arguing that it operates in an environment designed to shut tabloids down. He focuses on the copper shipment scandal in which copper revenues in millions of dollars were swindled over the period of several years through South Africa’s company Marcol, set up by Zambian government officials to inflate freight charges on shipments. Brian looks at the slush fund scandal which involved the dishing out of money by President Frederick Chiluba’s regime using illegal offshore accounts which were fuelled by the culture of brown envelopes popularly known as slush fund to hang on to power. He discusses the Zamtel scandal in which Communications and Transport Minister Dora Siliya hired RP Capital Partners Limited to value Zamtel assets to sale seventy-five per cent of shares for US$257 million with the government only recovering US$15 million. Brian concludes that there exists a culture of political patronage and corruption with impunity in Zambia among leaders making exposure by tabloid newspapers a serious risk that often results in arrests and imprisonment including the closure of tabloid newspapers.

Brian discusses corruption in Angola arguing that the country faces serious financial mismanagement across every level of society. He explores the role of tabloids in exposing corruption prevalent in the extractive industries and in the presidency’s office. He focuses on Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of President José Eduardo dos Santos, currently considered Africa’s richest woman. Brian discusses the Angolagate which involved an illegal arms sale to Angola despite a United Nations embargo and the back-door transactions. He looks at anti-corruption tabloid journalist Gustavo Costa and how his investigations have come with many risks to his life. He further looks at anti-corruption tabloid journalist Rafael Marques de Morais and how his criticism of widespread corruption has led to regular arrests. Brian concludes that anti-corruption tabloid journalism presents stories of publications with a short lifespan. He notes that despite the country having many natural resources, corruption is a major cancer that continues to destroy the country from inside.

Brian provides insights into Algeria arguing that the country faces rampant corruption at all levels of government institutions. He looks at the struggles of popular tabloid newspapers and their role in exposing financial mismanagement of public funds. Brian discusses El Watan tabloid newspaper and its impact in exposing corruption. He looks at the East-West Highway scandal initially estimated to cost around US$7 billion but swallowed over US$20 billion with a sizeable amount going to bribes. He also provides insights into the Sonatrach corruption scandal which shook Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas company leading to its Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Meziane and his senior management team being forced out for awarding contracts without competition, after receiving millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to win contracts. Brian concludes that corruption in Algeria thrives because there is no serious vigilance by anti-corruption institutions and agencies including lack of government commitment.

Brian discusses anti-corruption tabloid journalism in Morocco arguing that it plays a very important role in the fight against corruption. He argues that there exists a culture of patronage and nepotism in the country which makes corruption difficult to eliminate. Brian discusses corruption in government institutions explaining that anti-corruption laws are not enforced effectively and the government prosecutions often target petty corruption while companies owned by highly influential persons are rarely disciplined. He focuses on corruption in King Mohammed VI and the royal family and how they use their companies to coerce and solicit bribes. He argues that King Mohammed VI is now the richest monarchy in Africa with his personal fortune of over US$6 billion. Brian notes that there exists widespread culture of intimidations and harassments of tabloid journalists in the country that exposes corruption regularly in their tabloids. Brian concludes that even though the country criminalizes corruption, laws are not effectively enforced and government officials engage in corruption with impunity.

Brian provides insights into the phenomenon of corruption and bribery in Ghana. He argues that tabloid newspapers in the country are critical players in exposing corruption and financial mismanagement. He discusses the Scancem scandal which occurred between 1993 and 1998, in which Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, the wife of then Ghanaian President Jerry John Rawlings, received over US$17 million in bribes for sold shares to the new Norwegian cement manufacturing company Scancem that took over Ghacem. He looks at the United Bank of Africa in which Finance Minister Seth Terkper transferred US$250 million from the US$1 billion Eurobond issued in 2015 into a private account. Brian concludes that corruption is rampant in the country and tabloids continue to run hard-hitting front-page headlines to expose financial mismanagement.

Brian explains that corruption affects the socio-economic fabric and development of Nigeria and threatens the existence of the country as a political entity. He notes that tabloid newspapers in the country are important partners, largely because of their sensational watchdog function of monitoring actions and inactions of those in power. Brian discusses the Lamido Sanusi scandal and the disappearance of over US$20 billion in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in revenues. He also looks at the BMW scandal by the aviation minister in which millions of dollars were looted. Brian concludes that the role of anti-corruption tabloid newspapers is critical in the fight against corruption. He notes that tabloid journalists to expose corruption effectively require a high degree of responsibility, and involves editorial and gatekeeping decisions with regard to which information to report and which information to leave behind which enhances or damages the fight against corruption.

Brian discusses corruption in Uganda arguing that the country continues to struggle with financial mismanagement within the various levels of governance. He looks at corruption in the first family focusing on the disappearance of millions of dollars in donor funds from Office of the Prime Minister in 2012 marked for rebuilding the northern part of the country ravaged by a 20-year war. Brian looks at anti-corruption tabloid journalism arguing that they continue to play a critical role in exposing financial mismanagement. He discusses the Global Funds diversion scandal in which millions of dollars were diverted from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, and from the Global Fund to Fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Brian provides insights on the Red Pepper tabloid that dominates the tabloid journalism print section in the country and its exposure of corruption. He concludes that despite increased level of tabloid journalism that expose corruption, there exists institutional, political, and legislative failure to prosecute grand corruption.

Brian provides insights on corruption in Kenya noting that it has a historical dimension which spans from the era of the first President Jomo Kenyatta. He discusses anti-corruption tabloid journalism reporting. He focuses on the Goldenberg scandal in which the government paid millions of dollars on what was supposed to be subsidized exports of gold over their foreign currency earnings which were being smuggled from Congo. He also looks at the Anglo Leasing scandal in which plans to buy a sophisticated passport equipment system from France to replace its passport printing ended up in corruption transactions leading to the loss of millions of dollars. Brian discusses the Triton Oil scandal in which there was unauthorized release of oil by the Kenya Pipeline Company using back-door transactions. He concludes that tabloids despite experiencing regular harassments play a crucial role in creating awareness and pressuring the government to prosecute corruption through sensational headlines.

Brian discusses the Democratic Republic of Congo arguing that despite embracing democracy from colonialism, it is engulfed in prolonged civil wars and dictatorships making the fight against corruption difficult to achieve. He notes that corruption is deeply rooted in government institutions. He looks at tabloid journalism practice and corruption exposure. He explores the Kabila regimes noting that even though on numerous occasions they declared their commitment to fighting corruption, their anti-corruption agendas were often manipulated for political reasons. Brian discusses the Glencore mining scandal which revealed corruption in the country’s revenues agencies and state mining companies’ revenues for the state budget amounting to at least US$750 million which went missing over three years from 2013 to 2016. He concludes that even though the tabloid newspapers regularly expose embezzlement, corruption is deeply rooted and is not so much an affliction of the Congolese system as it is the system itself, deeply entrenched in the history of the Congolese state.

Brian explains that corruption in Cameroon is deeply rooted in government institutions. He discusses the anti-corruption tabloid journalism noting that the tabloid newspapers are critical platforms in discussing the culture of impunity when it comes to corruption. Brian explores the Albatross affair in which former Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2013 for embezzlement following the purchase at great expense, a presidential aircraft with serious mechanical flaws on its maiden flight. He discusses the SNH scandal and tabloid journalist Germain Cyrille Ngota, the editor of Cameroon Express who died in his cell in Kondengui Prison while following a scandal in which millions of dollars were looted to purchase an offshore service ship. Brian concludes that corruption is endemic in the country and increases poverty levels, and it is within this context that tabloid newspapers play a very critical role.

Brian offers a summary of ‘Anti-Corruption Tabloid Journalism in Africa’, revisiting some of the insights discussed in the book while looking at challenges and success stories comparatively throughout the analysis. He concludes that the book needs to be given weight for engaging scholarly debates in the scarcely explored field of anti-corruption tabloid journalism in Africa. He notes that the goal of his book was to use the continent’s cases to gain a clearer understanding of the evolution of anti-corruption tabloid journalism in Africa and to derive insights into the relationship between the anti-corruption actions of the state and anti-corruption reporting by the tabloids. He recommends the need for Africa’s governments to make freedom of information laws available and legally compel authorities to release information to the general public and provide monitoring mechanisms to track compliance with requests. Brian argues for the need to develop laws able to protect tabloid journalists in practice especially from attacks by politicians and political cadres.