Media Accountability and Corruption in Africa

Ufuoma Akpojivi is Policy, Research and Learning Lead at Advocates for International Development, as well as a Research Associate at both the University of South Africa and the University of Ghana. Prior to this, he was Associate Professor and Head of Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He is a C2 rated researcher of the National Research Foundation, South Africa.Tendai Chari is Associate Professor of Media Studies and a National Research Foundation (NRF) C1 Rated Researcher at the University of Venda, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Previously he lectured at several universities in Africa, including the University of Zimbabwe, where he was Head of the Media Programme in the English and Media Studies Department.

• Introduction: Media and Corruption in Africa: Between the Watchdog and the Enabler Ufuoma Akpojivi (A4ID, UK, and University of South Africa) and Tendai Chari (University of Venda, South Africa)Part I. Media Representation of Corruption1. The Racialisation of Corruption in South Africa: A Case Study of News24 Aiseng Kealeboga and Lethabo Ngoasheng (Rhodes University, South Africa)2. Unmasking Mozambique: Media Narratives on Corruption Dercio Tsandzana (Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique) 3. (Re)imagining Discourses of Political Corruption in the Malawian Newspaper Victor Chikaipa (University of Malawi, Malawi)Part II. Media Corruption and Accountability4. After the Satchwell Report into Ethical Breaches in the South African Media: Now What? Glenda Daniels (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa)5. Commissioned Investigative Reporting and Accountability in Africa: A Zimbabwean Case Study Tendai Chari (University of Venda, South Africa)6. Media and the Fight Against Corruption in Cameroon: Roles, Challenges, and Faults in Exposing the CDC Land-Grabbing Saga 2014-2021 Kingsley Ngange, Stephen Moki, and Jonas Matute (University of Buea, Cameroon)7. Southern African Media Council: An Analysis of Media Councils and the Responsiveness to Digitalisation Taryn De Vega (Rhodes University, South Africa)Part III. Social Media and Corruption8. Combating Corruption, Promoting Accountability and Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Democracy: The Role of Social Media Anne Odoh and Alex Tolu (Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria)9. It’s Our Turn to Eat: Ethnicisation of Corruption, Activism, and the Fight to Save Nigeria Ufuoma Akpojivi (A4ID, UK & University of South Africa, South Africa)Part IV. Media Capture and Journalistic Safety10. Media as Watchdog: Journalistic Practices and Safety of Media Practitioners in Ghana Akwasi Bosompem Boateng (University of Education, Winnneba, Ghana)11. The Fourth Estate Under Siege: Political Capture of Media Stalwarts in Ghana Jacob Nyarko and Samuel Danso (University of Cape Coast, Ghana, and Pentecost University, Ghana)ConclusionBibliographyIndex

The chapters in this book articulate well a key role of the media act as watchdogs for the public interest especially on corruption and malfeasance in society. Its coverage of media across the African continent illuminates well the dynamics and complexity of pursuing accountability in the Global South. Yet the book is not a rosy eyed view of the media because it raises the question who will watch the watchdogs for their own corruption that betrays the public trust. In this regard it avoids the often simplistic view of the media as the good guys chasing the corrupt bad guys in society. Institutional dynamics within the media and their social interactions complicate the picture. The focus on media accountability alerts us to the need to ensure that media institutions are not compromised in their role and truly uphold the public interest in the pursuit of positive transformative change in Africa.