Government of Somalia to take immediate action to improve security of media workers

Kampala:- EAHRDP DR Executive Director Dr. Hassan Shire Sheikh and Rory Peck Trust Nicolas Rouger Program Officer for Africa  with Somali Journalists in Uganda have Sent condolence with Killing of Mohamed Ibrahim Rage, a newscaster, reporter and program producer for Radio Mogadishu and Somali National Television (SNTV) – government managed media, who was killed Mogadishu.

Mr. Rage had received threats in the past and had just returned to Somalia after fleeing abroad for safety reasons. He is the second journalist to be killed in connection with his work in Somalia since the start of the year.”

Relatives said Rage was gunned down outside the door to his home in Ma’ma’anka neighborhood, in the Dharkenley district of Mogadishu, at around 6:00p local time. The two gunmen shot him seven times in the chest and head before fleeing.

Rage had recently returned to Somalia after several years in Uganda. In 2009, he resigned as a Radio Shabelle Media and he is the fourth journalist to be killed in Somalia since the start of 2013, but only the second to have been targeted in connection with his journalistic work. A total of 18 journalists were killed in Somalia in 2012, making it the world’s deadliest country for media personnel.

On the other side the EU Special Envoy to Somalia, Michele Cervone, condemns the atrocious assassination of Mohamed Ibrahim Rage, senior journalist and reporter of Radio Mogadishu and Somali National Television (SNTV), on 21 April in Mogadishu

He expresses his sincere condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of Mohamed Ibrahim Rage. Rage is the fourth journalist to be killed in Somalia this year. It follows a gruesome series of targeted attacks against media workers over the last two years and it sadly shows that Somalia remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists to operate in. The EU Special Envoy calls upon the Government of Somalia to take immediate action to improve security of media workers and to operationalise the announced Task Force on the investigation of the killings of journalists and bring the perpetrators to justice.

In carrying out their task in informing the Somali public, journalists are actively participating in the building of a free and democratic Somali society. Failure to protect media workers puts at risk the freedom of expression, one of the fundamental Human Rights, and therefore impedes Somalia’s reconstruction. 

The European Union stands ready to support the Government of Somalia in guaranteeing the safety of journalists and addressing press freedom violations as a whole.