Boureima Amadou
The evening of 31 August 2026 began like any other for Moussa Kaka. Around 7 p.m., the veteran journalist and director of Radio-Télévision Saraounia left his Niamey office to drive home. He never arrived. More than three years after the July 2023 coup that brought General Abdourahamane Tiani to power, his disappearance has become the most visible symptom of a media crackdown whose consequences now reach far beyond newsrooms: households cut off from reliable information, businesses losing a key pillar of the local economy, and a public debate shrinking by the month.
A disappearance that leaves families and colleagues without answers
Where is Moussa Kaka? The question echoes through newsrooms, family homes and neighbourhoods across Niger’s capital.
For nearly four decades, Kaka has been a fixture of the country’s media landscape. A former correspondent for international broadcasters and press freedom organisations, he built Radio-Télévision Saraounia into a recognised outlet. That profile makes his silence all the more unsettling.
Press freedom advocates have urged the Nigerien authorities to mobilise every resource to locate him and clarify the circumstances of his disappearance. The case has also been referred to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
So far, no public evidence establishes that the authorities are responsible for his vanishing. But the timing and the setting carry heavy historical echoes.
The Serge Mathurin Adou precedent: weeks of silence before a detention is confirmed
In September 2024, Ivorian journalist Serge Mathurin Adou, who lived in Niamey and worked for Canal 3, also disappeared. He had told his wife he was answering a summons from the judicial police. Then nothing.
For weeks, his relatives had no idea where he was. Professional organisations in Côte d’Ivoire raised alarm. The Ivorian government said it was monitoring the case and engaging with Nigerien authorities.
Adou was eventually found alive. He had been held by Nigerien authorities and was charged with “undermining state security” in a case tied to accusations of destabilising Burkina Faso.
That episode matters today because it shows a journalist can be treated as missing for weeks before his place of detention is officially acknowledged. It does not, however, prove that Kaka’s case follows the same script.
Since the 2023 coup, a tightening climate for the media
On 26 July 2023, President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by soldiers led by General Abdourahamane Tiani. The transfer of power marked a turning point for the press.
The transitional authorities moved quickly against several international broadcasters. Signals from foreign news channels were suspended, and relations with multiple foreign media outlets deteriorated.
Press freedom organisations regard the coup as a major turning point in the decline of media freedom in Niger, documenting arrests, detentions and prosecutions of journalists since then.
In this environment, topics deemed sensitive — the military, security, governance, international relations or the inner workings of power — have become especially difficult to cover.
Samira Sabou and the secret detention that set the tone
Just weeks after the coup, the case of journalist and blogger Samira Sabou caused widespread concern. On 30 September 2023, she was arrested in Niamey by men in civilian clothes who identified themselves as police officers.
For several days, her relatives did not know where she was. Press freedom advocates condemned a secret detention and demanded explanations. Sabou eventually reappeared at the judicial police headquarters and was held for several more days before being released.
Her case became one of the first symbols of the new pressure on journalists after the change of regime.
2024: Arrests become routine
In April 2024, Ousmane Toudou was arrested amid a tense political climate. A journalist and former communications adviser to ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, he faced charges related to state security.
Days later, Soumana Idrissa Maïga, publication director of the daily L’Enquêteur, was detained. His arrest followed an article about the alleged presence of listening equipment in official buildings. Charged with “undermining national defence,” he was placed in detention.
After more than two months in prison, he was granted provisional release in July 2024. Media watchdogs condemned the proceedings against him.
2025: The pressure escalates
The year 2025 confirmed the trend. In January, Seyni Amadou, editor-in-chief of Canal 3 TV, was arrested after the broadcast of a “barometer” assessing government ministers’ performance. The channel was suspended and the journalist’s press card was targeted. He was released a few days later.
The same month, Gazali Abdou Tasawa, a correspondent for a German broadcaster, was arrested following a report on the living conditions of migrants and refugees in Niamey. His detention was described as arbitrary.
In May, three journalists from Sahara FM — Hamid Mahmoud, Mahaman Sani and Massaouda Jaharou — were arrested after a programme on military cooperation between Niger and Russia. Press freedom groups denounced another use of judicial procedures against media professionals covering sensitive subjects.
Six journalists arrested in a single case
On 30 October 2025, six journalists and media professionals were arrested in Niamey: Moussa Kaka, Abdoul Aziz Idé, Ibro Chaibou, Souleymane Brah, Youssouf Sériba and Oumarou Kané.
They were prosecuted in a case linked to the social media circulation of an invitation to a press conference. Three were released under judicial supervision. The other three — Ibro Chaibou, Youssouf Sériba and Oumarou Kané — remained in detention.
Sériba and Kané were eventually freed in July 2026. Chaibou was released on 28 August 2026, after nearly ten months behind bars.
Only days after Chaibou’s release, Kaka disappeared. The timeline is troubling, though it alone does not establish a link between the two events.
Thirteen arrests in a single year
According to the Media Foundation for West Africa, 13 journalists or media professionals were arrested in Niger during 2025. The figure captures the scale of pressure on the profession, counting not only long-term detainees but also those arrested and later released.
Add to that the suspensions of outlets and restrictions targeting certain foreign media.
The press freedom index: a 37-place fall in one year
The global press freedom index provides another measure. In 2025, Niger ranked 83rd out of 180 countries. In the 2026 ranking, it fell to 120th — a drop of 37 places in a single year.
For press freedom advocates, this reflects the multiplication of arrests, prosecutions and restrictions imposed on media since the 2023 coup. They also highlight the impact of cybercrime legislation, which can expose journalists to criminal charges for certain content published online.
What remains when journalists cannot be sure of getting home?
Moussa Kaka’s disappearance should not be used to draw conclusions that the facts do not support. But it occurs in a context that cannot be ignored.
Since the July 2023 coup, Nigerien journalists have faced arrests, detentions, suspensions and legal proceedings. Some were freed after a few days. Others spent months in prison. Serge Mathurin Adou was treated as missing before his detention was revealed. Now Kaka is unaccounted for.
A transparent investigation is therefore essential — for his family, for his colleagues, and for Nigerien society as a whole.
Press freedom is not measured only by the number of newspapers or radio stations allowed to operate. It is measured by journalists’ ability to investigate, question power and report facts without fear of arrest, prosecution or being silenced.
In Niger, the question now goes beyond the fate of one man. It touches on citizens’ right to be informed — and on what remains of a free press when those who practice it can no longer be certain of making it home.
Mariama Hamani
