Thursday, 13 August 2026 |Guest Writer | Gabon | File Photo |
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday called on Gabonese authorities to lift the indefinite suspension of privately owned news website Info241, warning that the regulator’s decision amounts to censorship and restricts public access to information.
Gabon’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) ordered the suspension on August 10, three days after Info241 published an article about a YouTube video by a Europe-based activist known as Lanlaire.
The video contained allegations concerning the alleged misuse of public funds and the sexual orientation of President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema. Info241 reported on the allegations while, according to its publishing director, making clear that they were unsubstantiated.
“Deciding to shut down a 13-year-old media outlet is more an act of censorship than of regulation and deprives the Gabonese public of a major source of information,” said Moussa Ngom, CPJ’s Francophone Africa representative.
“Gabonese authorities must lift the indefinite suspension of Info241 and allow the outlet to resume work,” he said.
The HAC said Info241 had violated Gabon’s legislative and regulatory provisions by publishing what it described as malicious and unproven allegations.
“The media Info241, pretending to recognize the unfounded nature of the activist’s malicious and unproven insinuations, has chosen to publish them in defiance of the legislative and regulatory provisions in force,” the regulator said in a statement.
The authority also cited an ordinance governing digital social networks, which provides that people who participate in disseminating or sharing illegal content can be held liable for resulting harm.
Info241 publishing director Cédrin Mounziégou rejected the regulator’s position, saying that reporting on allegations circulating publicly does not amount to endorsing them.
“Informing the public about accusations circulating in the public space does not mean taking them up or accepting them as fact,” Mounziégou said in a statement.
He also questioned the legality of the suspension, saying Info241 was not given notice of the proceedings or an opportunity to defend itself before the decision was made. He argued that Gabonese law does not provide for an indefinite suspension of a media organization.
Article 183 of Gabon’s communication code allows the HAC to suspend a media outlet for up to 30 days for a first offense, up to 12 months for a repeat offense and permanently ban an outlet in cases involving multiple repeated offenses.
Mounziégou told CPJ that Info241 had never been sanctioned during its 13 years of operation.
The dispute comes amid broader concerns over restrictions on digital communication in Gabon. In February, CPJ joined the #KeepItOn coalition in urging Gabonese authorities to reverse an ongoing shutdown of social media platforms. The HAC has said the restrictions are intended to curb the spread of false information.
CPJ said it had sought comment from HAC spokesperson Jean-Claude Franck Mendome, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
The suspension of Info241 has renewed questions about the balance between combating false or harmful information and protecting press freedom, particularly as media outlets report on allegations involving political leaders and public officials.
