Media Accountability and Corruption in Africa: Contestations and Controversies
London: Bloomsbury Publishing (2026), 288 pp.
ISBN 978-1-350-58734-2
"Gathering scholarly voices and case studies from 10 sub-Saharan African countries, Media Accountability and Corruption in Africa is an open access look at how media influences governance, accountability, and public perceptions of corruption on the continent. The book offers an outline of the media's role in corruption in sub-Saharan Africa, then guides readers along as it examines specific countries and issues in depth via four thematic sub-sections: these explore media representations of corruption; media corruption and accountability; social media and corruption; and media capture and journalistic safety. Both editors and all contributors are based in sub-Saharan Africa, and their real-world, lived experiences of the contexts they write about enable new and critical insights into how media sometimes aids corruption and sometimes helps to expose and fight it. For its fresh theoretical interventions and detailed examples, this collection is valuable resource for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers interested in development, media accountability, and political transparency in Africa." (Publisher description)
Introduction: Media and Corruption in Africa: Between the Watchdog and the Enabler / Ufuoma Akpojivi and Tendai Chari , 1
I. MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF CORRUPTION
1 The Racialization of Corruption in South African Media: A Case Study of News24 / Kealeboga Aiseng and Lethabo Ngoasheng, 23
2 Unmasking Mozambique: Media Narratives on Corruption / Dércio Tsandzana, 39
3 (Re)Imagining Discourses of Political Corruption in the Malawian Print Media / Victor Chikaipa, 55
II. MEDIA CORRUPTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY
4 After the Satchwell Report into Ethical Breaches in the South African Media: Now What? / Glenda Daniels, 77
5 Commissioned Investigative Journalism, Corruption and Accountability in Africa: The Zimbabwean Case / Tendai Chari, 95
6 Media and the Fight Against Corruption in Cameroon: Roles, Challenges and Faults in Exposing CDC Land-Grabbing Saga, 2014–2021 / Kingsley Lyonga Ngange, Stephen Mokondo Moki, Jonas Menyoli Matute, 117
7 Media Accountability in Southern Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Media-Initiated Councils in South Africa and Zimbabwe / Taryn Isaacs De Vega, 159
III. MEDIA CAPTURE, SOCIAL MEDIA AND JOURNALISTIC SAFETY
8 It’s Our Turn to Eat, Ethnicization of Corruption: Activism and the Fight to Save Nigeria / Ufuoma Akpojivi, 181
9 Journalism and Anticorruption Reporting in Ghana: Analysis of Media Safety as a Watchdog / Akwasi Bosompem Boateng, 205
10 The Fourth Estate Under Siege: Political Capture of Media Stalwarts in Ghana / Jacob Nyarko and Samuel Danso, 227
I. MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF CORRUPTION
1 The Racialization of Corruption in South African Media: A Case Study of News24 / Kealeboga Aiseng and Lethabo Ngoasheng, 23
2 Unmasking Mozambique: Media Narratives on Corruption / Dércio Tsandzana, 39
3 (Re)Imagining Discourses of Political Corruption in the Malawian Print Media / Victor Chikaipa, 55
II. MEDIA CORRUPTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY
4 After the Satchwell Report into Ethical Breaches in the South African Media: Now What? / Glenda Daniels, 77
5 Commissioned Investigative Journalism, Corruption and Accountability in Africa: The Zimbabwean Case / Tendai Chari, 95
6 Media and the Fight Against Corruption in Cameroon: Roles, Challenges and Faults in Exposing CDC Land-Grabbing Saga, 2014–2021 / Kingsley Lyonga Ngange, Stephen Mokondo Moki, Jonas Menyoli Matute, 117
7 Media Accountability in Southern Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Media-Initiated Councils in South Africa and Zimbabwe / Taryn Isaacs De Vega, 159
III. MEDIA CAPTURE, SOCIAL MEDIA AND JOURNALISTIC SAFETY
8 It’s Our Turn to Eat, Ethnicization of Corruption: Activism and the Fight to Save Nigeria / Ufuoma Akpojivi, 181
9 Journalism and Anticorruption Reporting in Ghana: Analysis of Media Safety as a Watchdog / Akwasi Bosompem Boateng, 205
10 The Fourth Estate Under Siege: Political Capture of Media Stalwarts in Ghana / Jacob Nyarko and Samuel Danso, 227
