Three days have passed since the prominent Nigerien journalist Moussa Kaka\u00a0went missing, raising fears that he may have been forcibly disappeared.
Kaka, director-general of Radio T\u00e9l\u00e9vision Saraounia and a former correspondent for Radio France Internationale, left his office in Niamey, the capital, at around 7 p.m. on August 31 to return home. Since then, his family and colleagues have been unable to obtain any information about his whereabouts.
Kaka has previously\u00a0faced pressure from the authorities. In October 2025, police in Niamey\u00a0arrested him and five other journalists\u2014Abdoul Aziz Id\u00e9, Ibro Chaibou, Souleymane Brah, Youssouf Seriba and Oumarou Kan\u00e9\u2014after they announced via social media a news briefing about a solidarity fund the government had created to raise money to support state security force operations. The authorities charged them with \u201ccomplicity in distributing documents likely to disturb public order\u201d under the cybercrime law. In November, a court released\u00a0Kaka, Id\u00e9 and Brah on bail, while\u00a0Seriba and Kan\u00e9 were released on July 15, and\u00a0Chaibou on August 28.
Kaka\u2019s disappearance followed an attempted coup against Niger\u2019s junta on August 29, when mutinous soldiers attacked several strategic locations in the capital. The army,\u00a0backed by Russian government-controlled Africa Corps forces, retook control on August 30.The authorities have since\u00a0detained soldiers alleged to have taken part in the uprising and\u00a0one former minister.
A Nigerien journalist said that in Niger today, \u201cone could disappear because of his or her opinions.\u201d He described Kaka\u2019s disappearance as following the same modus operandi as other disappearances of prominent junta critics.
Under international human rights law, an enforced disappearance occurs when someone is held by state forces and the authorities refuse to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or conceal their whereabouts.
Since\u00a0seizing power in a 2023 coup, Niger\u2019s junta has entrenched authoritarian rule, dismantled democratic institutions, and intensified repression against its critics. The military authorities have\u00a0dissolved political parties,\u00a0suspended dozens of civil society groups,\u00a0detained journalists under a\u00a0broad cybercrime law,\u00a0stripped political opponents of their nationality, announced Niger\u2019s\u00a0withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, and\u00a0prolonged the country\u2019s political transition without elections. The junta also continues to arbitrarily detain\u00a0former President Mohamed Bazoum and a prominent human rights defender,\u00a0Moussa Tchangari.
Niger\u2019s authorities should immediately disclose Kaka\u2019s whereabouts, ensure his safety, and release him unless he has been charged with a valid criminal offense.
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