CIVICUS discusses the repression of press freedom in Djibouti with Zineb Haddaji, an exiled independent journalist who covers Djibouti and the Horn of Africa for international outlets and documents freedom of expression violations. Zineb is the founder of ZoomIn, a weekly TikTok series on daily life and systemic issues in Djibouti.

In April, Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh won a sixth term. The election followed a constitutional amendment that removed the age limit that should have barred him from running, a change critics condemned as laying the ground for a life presidency. The vote took place in a deeply restricted media environment. Djibouti has no privately owned media and journalists face harassment, self-censorship and exile.

Are there any independent journalists in Djibouti?

I cannot honestly say Djibouti has independent journalism any more. Reporters Without Borders ranks us 167 out of 180 countries for press freedom. The numbers are damning, and they don’t capture how it feels to watch your profession disappear. The government entirely controls media licences. There’s no independent journalists’ association and no journalism school. The infrastructure that should support journalists simply doesn’t exist.

Growing up, I believed that as a journalist I would be able to serve my country. But that possibility has been systematically eliminated. Those who speak out – activists, journalists, opposition figures, citizens addressing political or social issues – risk arrest, harassment and intimidation. I saw talented reporters unable to report. I saw people censor themselves out of fear. I watched the profession I wanted to practise become impossible to practise safely.

There are exiled media platforms active on social media, but they operate without professional standards. Some spread disinformation, insults and unverified claims, further eroding public trust in alternative voices. As a result, state-aligned outlets dominate and exiled outlets struggle with credibility.

How does the government control information?

The government controls information through fear. This means legal pressure, restricted access and surveillance, with each mechanism reinforcing the others.

Opposition and exiled media websites are blocked. At times of political tension, access to social media platforms is restricted, forcing people to use VPNs. Internet access is kept deliberately expensive through Djibouti Telecom’s monopoly, which means poorer people are priced out of alternative information entirely. The government has weaponised the cost of access.

The government also carefully manages its international image. When President Guelleh gives interviews, they appear in carefully chosen outlets where questions are limited in scope and never pose a serious challenge. To the outside world, Djibouti appears to function normally, while internally, the system silences information at every level.

What does it mean to report from exile?

Exile gives me a voice but takes away my country. I can write, post and report freely in a way that would be impossible in Djibouti. But this freedom has a cost I didn’t fully understand until I lived it: I cannot safely return home. My reporting has made that impossible.

Distance creates constant challenges. I can’t access information in real time. Verification is difficult because people in Djibouti fear the consequences of speaking to a journalist, even privately. One conversation could mean arrest or harassment. Protecting sources requires patience, constant cross-checking and extreme caution. Work moves slowly because safety must come first.

The psychological toll is severe. Online harassment follows me even when I’m abroad. But the deeper pain is the permanent separation. I have the voice but not the presence. I can tell my country’s story, but I cannot walk its streets or see my family. I carry exile as both liberation and loss. There’s grief in this freedom.

How does the absence of free media affect people?

The absence of free media is not a technical problem or a policy question. It’s an attack on citizenship itself. When people don’t have access to public records, independent reporting or reliable information, they can’t understand how decisions are made or where their money goes. They can’t question officials or hold them accountable because they have no information to question them with.

Without information, people are effectively removed from democracy. They can’t investigate corruption or question government spending. They can’t challenge decisions until after decisions are already implemented. They are left with only the official version of events. It’s a fundamental denial of the right to know, the most basic right of citizenship.

Silence consolidates power. It’s the mechanism that makes authoritarianism possible.

What would it take to guarantee media freedom in Djibouti?

Guaranteeing media freedom in Djibouti would require structural reforms and a degree of political openness that doesn’t currently exist. Media licences should be granted by an independent regulatory body, not by the government. Journalists should have their own association to establish professional standards, defend their rights and ensure their safety. These changes would fundamentally transform the relationship between government and media.

A short-term path to reform is not realistic because the current system benefits from silence, so the government has no incentive to change. But there’s still reason for hope, and it comes from young people. They are more aware of censorship than previous generations. They are using social media, creativity and humour to question the system, finding ways to speak despite impossible constraints.

Exiled journalists and creator journalists can play an important role, but only if they do serious fact-checking and work with professionalism and responsibility, free of bias, personal attacks and tribalism. The goal is not simply to oppose the government but to rebuild a culture where free information is understood as essential to citizenship.

That’s why I started my weekly TikTok series, ZoomIn, which provides five-minute coverage of daily life and systemic issues in Djibouti. It reaches young Djiboutians who understand that their country is controlled by silence, and want this to change.

CIVICUS interviews a wide range of civil society activists, experts and leaders to gather diverse perspectives on civil society action and current issues for publication on its CIVICUS Lens platform. The views expressed in interviews are the interviewees’ and do not necessarily reflect those of CIVICUS. Publication does not imply endorsement of interviewees or the organisations they represent.