Thirty media organisations in Rwanda have been suspended for failing to meet the requirements of the country's restrictive media law ahead of next Monday's presidential election.
Among the banned publications are leading daily newspapers, such as Umuseso, Umuvugizi and Umurabayo. They have fallen foul of the August 2009 Law on Media that requires media outlets to be licensed and grants the Media High Council powers of censorship.
Rwanda's president Paul Kagame, who is seeking re-election, has been on the Reporters Without Borders list of list of press freedom predators for the past four years. His country is ranked 157th out of 175 countries in the watchdog's press freedom index.
Robert Booth reported yesterday that Rwanda's image is being polished outside Africa by a global PR firm, Racepoint. He cited this example, in Foreign Direct Investment magazine, of a positive story about Rwanda due to the PR spinner's work. Rwanda "prides itself on having zero corruption", noted the writer.
Sources: RSF/AFP/The Guardian
