Niger’s media landscape has been steadily shrinking since the July 26, 2023 coup that brought General Abdourahamane Tiani to power. Arrests, detentions, media suspensions and judicial pressure have become routine. Now the disappearance of Moussa Kaka, a towering figure in Nigerien journalism, has intensified fears. Before him, Ivorian journalist Serge Mathurin Adou also went missing before his detention was eventually confirmed. Reporters Without Borders says press freedom in Niger has sharply deteriorated.
Moussa Kaka: a vanishing that raises urgent questions
In Niger, one question now echoes through newsrooms and family homes: where is Moussa Kaka?
The journalist and director-general of Radio-Télévision Saraounia has not been heard from since August 31, 2026.
That evening, around 7 p.m., he left his office in Niamey to head home. He never arrived. Since then, his family, relatives and colleagues have had no news.
Moussa Kaka’s disappearance comes as he has become, over nearly forty years of career, one of the best-known figures in Nigerien media. A former correspondent for Radio France Internationale and Reporters Without Borders, he runs Radio-Télévision Saraounia, which he developed over the years.
RSF has called on Nigerien authorities to do everything possible to find the journalist and establish the circumstances of his disappearance. The organisation has also referred the case to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
At this stage, no public evidence establishes that Nigerien authorities are responsible for his disappearance.
But the context surrounding this case is heavy with precedent.
Serge Mathurin Adou: the precedent that looms large
In September 2024, Ivorian journalist Serge Mathurin Adou, based in Niamey and working notably for Canal 3, also vanished.
He had told his wife he was responding to a summons from the judicial police. Then nothing.
For several weeks, his relatives had no idea where he was. Ivorian professional organisations raised alarm. The Ivorian government said it was monitoring the case and taking steps with Nigerien authorities.
The journalist was eventually found alive. He was held by Nigerien authorities and charged with “undermining state security” in a case linked to accusations of destabilising Burkina Faso.
This case matters in the current debate: it shows that in Niger, a journalist can be considered missing for weeks before his place of detention is officially known.
But it does not allow the conclusion that Moussa Kaka’s disappearance follows the same scenario.
Since the coup, a steadily tightening climate
On July 26, 2023, President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by soldiers led by General Abdourahamane Tiani.
The change of power marked a turning point for the media.
The transitional authorities quickly took measures against several international media outlets. RFI and France 24 signals were suspended. Relations with several foreign media deteriorated.
Reporters Without Borders considers the coup a major turning point in the decline of press freedom in Niger. Since that period, the organisation has documented arrests, detentions and prosecutions targeting journalists.
In this context, topics deemed sensitive — the army, security, governance, international relations or the functioning of power — have become particularly difficult to cover.
Samira Sabou: a secret detention that sounded alarm
Just weeks after the coup, the case of journalist and blogger Samira Sabou caused concern.
On September 30, 2023, she was arrested in Niamey by men in civilian clothes presenting themselves as police officers.
For several days, her relatives did not know where she was.
Reporters Without Borders denounced a secret detention and demanded explanations from authorities. Samira Sabou eventually reappeared at the judicial police premises and was held for several days before being released.
Her case became one of the first symbols of the new pressure exerted on journalists since the regime change.
2024: Arrests multiply
In April 2024, Ousmane Toudou was arrested amid a tense political climate.
A journalist and former communications adviser to deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, he was prosecuted notably on charges related to state security.
A few days later, Soumana Idrissa Maïga, publication director of the daily L’Enquêteur, was detained.
His arrest followed the publication of an article about the alleged presence of listening equipment in official buildings.
He was charged with “undermining national defence” and placed in detention.
After more than two months in prison, he was granted provisional release in July 2024. The Committee to Protect Journalists and RSF denounced the prosecutions against him.
2025: 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 members’ performance.
The channel was suspended and the journalist’s press card was also targeted. He was eventually released a few days later.
RSF denounced an attack on press freedom and called on authorities to stop pressure measures against media.
The same month, Gazali Abdou Tasawa, Deutsche Welle correspondent, was arrested after a report on the living conditions of migrants and Nigerien refugees in Niamey.
RSF described his detention 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.
The Committee to Protect Journalists denounced a new use of judicial procedures against media professionals working on sensitive topics.
Six journalists arrested in a single case
On October 30, 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 dissemination on social media of an invitation to a press conference.
Three of them were released under judicial supervision. The other three — Ibro Chaibou, Youssouf Sériba and Oumarou Kané — remained in detention.
Youssouf Sériba and Oumarou Kané were eventually released in July 2026.
Ibro Chaibou was released on August 28, 2026, after nearly ten months behind bars.
Just days after Ibro Chaibou’s release, Moussa Kaka disappeared.
The timeline is troubling, but it alone does not establish a link between the two events.
Thirteen journalists arrested in 2025
According to the Media Foundation for West Africa, 13 journalists or media professionals were arrested in Niger during 2025.
This figure gives a sense of the scale of pressure on the profession. It includes not only journalists held for long periods but also those arrested and then released.
Alongside these arrests are media suspensions and restrictions targeting certain foreign outlets.
RSF ranking as an indicator of decline
Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index provides another indicator.
In 2025, Niger ranked 83rd out of 180 countries.
In the 2026 ranking, it fell to 120th place.
A drop of 37 places in a single year.
For RSF, this evolution reflects notably the multiplication of journalist arrests, prosecutions and restrictions imposed on media since the 2023 coup.
The organisation also highlights the impact of cybercrime legislation, which can expose journalists to criminal prosecution for certain content published online.
After arrests, disappearances: what remains?
Moussa Kaka’s disappearance must not be used to draw conclusions not established by facts.
But it occurs in a context that cannot be ignored.
Since the July 2023 coup, Nigerien journalists have faced arrests, detentions, suspensions and judicial proceedings.
Some were released after a few days.
Others spent months in prison.
Serge Mathurin Adou was reported missing before his detention was revealed.
And today, it is Moussa Kaka who is unaccounted for.
A transparent investigation therefore appears indispensable.
For his family, first.
For his colleagues, next.
But also for Nigerien society as a whole.
Because press freedom is not measured solely by the number of newspapers or radio stations allowed to operate. It is also measured by journalists’ ability to investigate, question power and report facts without fear of being arrested, prosecuted or silenced.
In Niger, the question now goes beyond Moussa Kaka’s fate alone.
It touches on citizens’ right to be informed.
And when a journalist disappears in a context where so many others have already been arrested or detained, another question inevitably imposes itself:
what remains of press freedom when those tasked with exercising it are no longer certain they can return home?