Moussa Sareba, a journalist for the private outlet Fil Infos and administrator of the Facebook page of Radio Oméga, was abducted on 10 August inside the Fil Infos offices in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Four months later, his relatives and colleagues still have had no news of him. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this enforced disappearance — a scenario all too familiar in the country — and calls on the Burkinabè authorities to communicate what has happened to the journalist and release him without delay.
It has been four months since Moussa Sareba disappeared. According to RSF information, on the morning of 10 August, the journalist allegedly received a phone call from an unidentified individual asking him to go to the premises of Fil Infos, near Boulevard Thomas Sankara in Ouagadougou, and he took off on his mobylette. Upon his arrival, several individuals in civilian clothing who presented themselves as agents of the National Police (DGPN) reportedly ordered him to follow them.
The group then went to his home in the 11th arrondissement of Ouagadougou. According to RSF information, Moussa Sareba entered his home with two of the individuals to retrieve his phone and computer. Since then, his close ones and colleagues have had no contact with him and do not know where he is being detained. RSF has requested information from the Ministry of Communication but has not yet received a response.
Ten days before his arrest, on 30 July, Moussa Sareba had posted an article on the Facebook page of Radio Oméga — based on a short news item broadcast on the radio — about the death of Burkinabè influencer Alino Faso. The article used the term “junta” to refer to the authorities, who came to power as a result of a military coup in September 2022. For that reason, on 1 August, the publication led to a three-month suspension of Radio Oméga for “malicious and discourteous remarks towards the Burkinabè authorities,” according to the High Council for Communication (CSC). The journalist who broadcasted the original news item, Solomane Nikièma, was arrested on 9 August and released the following evening.
“Although several journalists who were forcibly conscripted or declared missing in recent months have been released, Moussa Sareba’s disappearance — which has now lasted four months — is alarming. His arrest inside his media outlet’s offices and the silence surrounding the case demonstrate — once again — the authorities’ determination to silence all independent voices. In this instance, the journalist was not abducted for criticism or for an investigation, but simply for using the term ‘junta’, which the Burkinabè authorities do not appreciate. RSF condemns this forced disappearance and calls on the authorities to reveal Moussa Sareba’s fate and whereabouts and release him immediately.”
Radio Oméga suspended for three months
Although Radio Oméga’s suspension ended at the beginning of November, the outlet has not been able to resume broadcasting — officially for internal reorganisation reasons.
The situation for journalists has significantly worsened in Burkina Faso since Ibrahim Traoré came to power in September 2022. Arrests, forced conscriptions, suspensions, and increased control of information: the repressive tools used by the authorities are unmatched in the region. While seven journalists were released over the summer, the editor-in-chief of the investigative newspaper L’Événement, Atiana Serge Oulon, appears to have been forcibly conscripted by the authorities since June 2024.
