No society can develop without an atmosphere that allows for informed choices. The press plays a great role of providing information.

Reports from the World Press Day are alarming. According to the United Nations, in 2008, 60 journalists were killed around the world and many others kidnapped, wounded or threatened. This must be stopped. Measures to protect rights of the journalists and other media practitioners ought to be put in place in order to promote availability of information to the general public. The World Press Day served as a reminder that many journalists brave death or jail to bring people daily news. Failure to protect journalists endangers civil liberties and democratic space of the citizenry.

Most governments in Africa (for instance Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda) are guilty of press censorship resulting into intimidating atmosphere for journalists. Consumers of information, that is the general population, ought not to allow governments to trample on the right to access information. It is time governments on the continent realized that press freedom and democracy are inseparable.