Mali: independent press in peril after Joliba TV’s license withdrawn
The license of Joliba TV News has been withdrawn by the Haute Autorité de la Communication (HAC), Mali’s national communications regulator, following a complaint lodged by its Burkinabe counterpart on 12 November. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this political decision and calls on the HAC to restore the private channel's signal.
There is no more regularly scheduled programming for Joliba TV News as of Tuesday, 26 November. The private channel's license, which expired in November 2022, has been withdrawn by the Haute Autorité de la Communication (HAC), the national communications regulator, as announced on 21 November. The channel's managers have lodged an appeal with the regulatory body, which is still being examined.
Nine days earlier, the Superior Council for Communication (CSC), Burkina Faso’s national communications regulator, lodged a complaint with the HAC, its Malian counterpart, following the broadcast of the debate program "Rendez-vous des idées" on 10 November. One of the show's guests, Issa Kaou N'Djim, a political figure in Mali who has since been arrested and imprisoned, had questioned an alleged attempted coup in Burkina Faso, calling it "staged."
Contacted by RSF, a source inside the HAC who wishes to remain anonymous believes that the decision to withdraw Joliba TV’s license was far from unanimous. On 23 November, the professional organisations in Mali’s journalism industry, such as Maison de la presse, also called on the HAC to reverse its decision. These organisations have announced that if nothing is done, they will broadcast the offending item simultaneously. According to RSF’s information, a final mediation session, deemed "productive" by one of the participants, was held on 25 November, although its outcome is not yet known.
Joliba TV News is watched by a large part of the population, and has always been a local media playing a leading role in safeguarding media pluralism in Mali. The withdrawal of its license and its suspension confirm the diminishing press freedom in the country. As Mali's HAC is siding with its Burkinabè counterpart, the Joliba TV News case is political. RSF calls on the authorities to immediately reverse the decision and issue no individual suspension so Joliba TV News can continue its essential news work.
On 14 November, the journalist-host of "Rendez-vous des idées", Mohamed Attaher Halidou, and the director of Joliba TV News were summoned to the HAC for a hearing concerning the 10 November broadcast. Following a complaint from Burkina Faso's CSC, the regulatory body questioned the media outlet's responsibility, dwelling at length on the title of the episode, calling it "offensive to a foreign head of state."
Joliba TV: one of the last bastions of the independent press
Created in 2021, Joliba TV News rapidly established itself as one of the leading channels in the Malian media landscape, particularly through its presence on social media. According to a Malian journalist who wishes to remain anonymous, this private channel — which employs nearly 45 people — is one of the last media in the country that "refuses to be a sounding board for the junta."
Between bans on several international media outlets, including LCI in August and TV5Monde in September, and threats to Malian journalists, who are sometimes forced to leave their country, the situation for journalists has considerably deteriorated in Mali since Assimi Goïta came to power. Insecurity reigns, as witnessed by the murder of journalist Abdoul Aziz Djibrilla for Naata radio and the kidnapping of two community radio journalists in November 2023, near the city of Gao. In September 2024, RSF and more than 500 community radios called for the protection of local journalism in the Sahel.
