West African regulators issue media mandates and broadcasting bans

In Togo, Communication Minister Yawa Ahofa Kouigan has ordered audiovisual distributors, specifically Canal+ Togo and New World TV, to restore free access to public media services. Citing the 2019 legal framework for audiovisual communications, the minister noted that services such as Télévision Togolaise, Radio Lomé, and Radio Kara are not consistently available to all subscribers without charge. The operators have 30 days, until October 18, 2026, to comply or face referral to the regulatory authority.

In Guinea, the Haute Autorité de la Communication (HAC) has ordered an immediate and total ban on the broadcast of France 24 across all technical vectors. The decision follows a dispute regarding a broadcast on September 14, in which a presenter referred to President Mamadi Doumbouya as a ‘president putschiste’. While France 24 claims to have issued apologies and complied with an initial formal notice, the HAC cited a ‘manifest, deliberate, and characterized refusal’ to cease using the term, leading to the full suspension of the channel.