Rwandan High Media Outlet gives news outlets a week to re-register in bid to stifle opposition papers.

Expression Today
13 July 2010

Rwanda’s already frustrated media houses have been handed a seven-day ultimatum to re-register or risk being declared legally non-existent and be blocked from covering the August 9 presidential elections.

After breaching the media law for nearly a year, the government-funded regulatory body went ahead on Friday July 9 to give another one-week ultimatum to all media organizations operating in Rwanda to re-register.

The Council chairman Arthur Asiimwe had declared that July 9 was the deadline for all media organizations to have met all necessary requirements to be allowed to operate. Asiimwe who represents no media interests in the council was in April sacked from The New Times which he represented on the pro-government body.

On January 27, the Media High Council summoned all media owners to remind them of Articles 95 and 96 that provide for registration of all media organizations that existed in the country prior to the promulgation of the media law.

“Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 95 of this law, media organs in place before the publication of this law in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda shall, within a period not exceeding three (3) months as from publication of this law, have declared to the Media High Council, the requirements referred to under Article 24 of this Law,” Article 96 of the media law says in part.

Article 24 states: “Before launching any media organ, its owner or its publishing director shall file a written application to the Media High Council. If it is a government-owned media organ, it shall be the authority of the institution wishing to launch it or its director appointed by the relevant organ who files the application to the Media High Council.”

Out of 60 officially registered media houses, only 12 have been able to register, over 30 had incomplete files (including the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front’s The New Times daily), while 48 have not bothered with registration, according to the Media Council.

Some of the requirements for the media organization to operate in Rwanda include an application letter, at least a bachelor's degree in journalism or communications for the managing director and chief editor, certificate of good conduct and details of frequency of publication.

Media organizations have complained about interpretation and implementation of some articles of the law. Article 2 defines a journalist as anyone who gathers, writes or reports information through a medium.

Academic qualification for someone for a journalist is any university degree and a certificate in journalism or communication. But professional qualification was to be considered five years after the law came into force.

The trouble is about qualifications for publisher and editors-in-chief who must be professional journalists. Most Rwandan media houses are owned by individuals who never completed secondary and have no professional training.

Many practicing journalists are untrained in the field and do not qualify as professionals according to the law.

While journalists hoped to get professional training wthin five years as required by the law, media owners were not allowed any time.

This partly explains the delayed registration of most media organizations. Those with incomplete files at the Media Council include public media: Radio Rwanda, Rwanda Television, Imvaho Nshya and La Nouvelle Releve.

To explain the Council's continued violation of the law, Executive Secretary Patrice Mulama said the body had been lenient, trying to understand the weight of gathering all the necessary documents.

"Our leniency is causing the continued breach of law by the Council itself, but it has enabled some media organizations to register while majority lack a few requirements," Mulama said.