Why Freedom of Expression in Democracy Shouldn’t Be Suppressed

The recorded rise in genocide in African countries such as Nigeria and Sudan paints a harrowing picture where ethnic cleansing, religious attacks and impositions on freedom of expression are the order of the day. All in attempts to gain land access and a deep desire for government control. Genocide can be defined as the deliberate, systematic destruction of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

Examples of countries where genocide has been rife include Rwanda and Cambodia. Genocide is often a result of deep-rooted and immediate factors, including political upheaval, exclusionary ideologies and long-standing discrimination against a targeted group. Often a calculated act by a coherent and vicious elite to achieve a specific end, not a random outbreak of irrational hatred.

Analysts and data from organisations like the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project [ACLED] confirm high levels of violence where over 20,400 civilians were killed between 2020 and September 2025, as countries such as Sudan and Nigeria are in a battle of contestation of territory, ethnic cleansing, and religious conflict through massacres. Both Christians and Muslims are victims of widespread insecurity all across the world, and oftentimes experience violence which stems from land disputes and a deep desire for government control.

For instance, Muslim’s in China are facing persecution by the Chinese government, where 800,000 Muslims have been detained, tortured or disappeared, with estimates of up to three million in total being held in detention camps. Secondly, persecution involved mass surveillance, forced labour, restrictions on religious practices and political indoctrination in a campaign the government labels as countering extremism. Similar to the Chinese government persecution of Muslims, in the African continent, Christian persecution includes widespread violence, discrimination, and forced displacement, often perpetuated by Islamist militant groups. Moreover, the violent acts include mass killings and beheadings in Nigeria, kidnappings for ransom or enslavement and destruction of churches and homes, forced displacement.

Consequently, this led to President Donald Trump threatening military action against Nigeria over the claims, leading to a diplomatic scramble by Nigeria to counter the narrative and emphasise its territorial integrity. However, on 14 February 2024, Bishop Chikpa Wilfred Anagbe testified at the Africa Subcommittee of the United States. The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s situation of persecuted Christians in Nigeria. In his opening address, Bishop Wilfred Anagbe said the following: “In Benue, there are 6 million inhabitants who are mostly subsistence farmers living on ancestral farmland; 99% are Christian, 80% of whom are Catholic. At this time, more than 2,225,000 (two million two hundred and twenty-five thousand) have been brutally driven from their land by militant Fulani and now live in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, in makeshift shanties that are unfit for animals, let alone human beings. What is occurring in Benue and elsewhere in Nigeria is an organised, systematic, and brutal cleansing of Christians by militant Fulani terrorists who are killing countless innocent men, women and children and displacing millions from their ancestral homes.”

Despite internal deflection points by Nigeria’s diplomatic efforts to diminish reports of religious extremism, it is evident that widespread Islamic militant groups have devastated the African continent through massacres and the overthrow of governments in conflict zones and of the fight over mineral resources, land and territory, which the situation remains interlinked to Sudan’s genocide. Without question, the internal battles in Africa remain a widespread concern on the international stage in both Nigeria and Sudan (specifically Darfur), and the underlying reasons are complex, involving a mix of historical marginalisation, ethnic and religious divides, resource scarcity (land and water), political power struggles, and weak governance. Without dismissing, the scramble for Africa’s resources by foreign powers and corruption by governments for not equally distributing the wealth of their state and foreign interference.

These root causes are having a greater effect on people’s freedom of expression, to live freely, to express their freedom of religion, association, movement, cultural rights and opportunity to live sustainable lives with access to jobs. As it stands, as long as African governments do not take needed steps to resolve internal conflicts, the African diaspora will continue to suffer with a steep decline in democratic values. The current civil war (since April 2023) has seen a resurgence of genocide violence in Sudan Darfur by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which evolved from the Janjaweed, against non-Arab communities – which is in part an ethnic battle fuelled by resource scarcity and dwindling access to arable land and water, exacerbated by climate change and population growth, has intensified long-standing disputes between nomadic herders (many of whom are Arab) and sedentary farmers (many of whom are non-Arab).

Similarly,  the Nigerian government has failed to address the extremist groups (Boko Haram/ISWAP) that carry out attacks that are anti-christian campaigns because christian persecution has been a wide known catastrophe and the violence often devastates the entire communities indiscriminately and is part of a broader struggle for political power and control attributed by weak governance and impunity, a lax security response and the government’s inability to bring perpetrators to justice in the face of a worsening crisis have fuelled accusations of government collusion and a loss of faith in state institutions, allowing violence to persist.

Above all, Nigeria is known as a democratic state, and Sudan is currently regarded as not a democratic state, with a sharp decline in freedom in the Sudanese state. However, such outrageous acts of violence against women and children impede human values of freedom and democracy, and if much action is not taken against such atrocities, the African continent will immensely fall into an uncontrollable sense of hopelessness and despondency, and the stench of death and lack of development will reign supreme. The scenarios which are brutally taking place in the northern parts of Africa must become a wake-up call to all African leaders to see the need to uphold justice and the rule of law to avoid a decay which is taking place in countries such as Sudan and Nigeria.

Without question, Africa needs values like human dignity, the rule of law, and free and fair elections to build on freedom and democracy. Considering that South Africa is headed towards the 2026 local government elections, all citizens should consider the grave danger of not participating in upholding the crucial value of voting to avoid worst-case scenarios unfolding. Other crucial values that African governments need to put into action include equality, non-racialism and non-sexism, respect for human rights, and a commitment to social justice and equity. Building a strong democracy also requires an independent judiciary, a free and responsible media, and open, accountable governance that prioritises the needs of its citizens.

My call to action to all activators and the network is for us as young people to be active citizens and not just keyboard warriors that make their concerns heard on social media without participating on grassroots levels actions which will bring about change in our communities, and we should not allow our freedom of expression to be trampled upon by our government because once we allow government to diminish our voices in the face of corruption, crime, lack of jobs and youth unemployment and lack of service delivery and quality access to healthcare system – we will be setting the precedence for a decaying African continent whom we are the responsible custodians whom the creator God has entrusted us all with. Lastly, our inability to be watchdogs and active citizens can erode our democratic values; therefore, our proactive involvement in our democracy through holding local government accountable strengthens our democratic values and will lead to decision makers understanding that all decisions and actions they take are under scrutiny by citizens.

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About the Author:

Lebogang Victor Ditsebe is a 2018 Activator who is passionate about social justice and inclusion, speaking truth to power and passionately sharing his thoughts on issues close to his heart—a member of the Writers Hub from Kimberley, Northern Cape, and a civic champion.