The Ivoirian media regulatory body, Conseil National de la Presse (CNP) has suspended privately-owned weekly Déclic Magazine and its reporter, Martial Alaté, following a publication about a minister that the regulator deemed unprofessional.
The newspaper alleged that a state minister, Kobéna Adjoumani Kouassi, and an Ivoirian singer, Sévérine Adjoumani, were allegedly in a romantic relationship.
A statement issued by the president of CNP, on February 11, 2016, said the weekly has been suspended for two publications while the journalist has also been suspended for a month.
“The information reported in the article has not been established hence it is a distortion of information and an invasion of the duo’s privacy,” the CNP communiqué said.
The MFWA is concerned about the spate of suspension of journalists and newspapers in Cote d’Ivoire and calls on journalists to be more professional in carrying out their journalistic duties. We also urge the CNP to work with the media to find lasting solution to the problem of unprofessional reportage.