ONAMA owns provincial stations in many cities around Chad including Mondo, Doba, Borkou, Mongo, and many more.
In 2019, a newspaper editor initially charged with defaming a former government minister was sentenced to three years in prison for “association for the purpose of computer crime”, a charge that was fabricated by the prosecution with the sole aim of keeping him in prison; where he has been physically attacked and is being held in appalling conditions.
Coverage of impunity or criticism of President Idriss Deby Itno and those close to him is not tolerated and can lead to expulsion (for foreign journalists), to abduction and arbitrary detention (for Chadian journalists) and to the closure of media outlets – the fate suffered by a weekly newspaper in 2018.
Journalists are exposed to the threat of terrorism, as was seen in 2019 when a national TV cameraman travelling with an army convoy was killed by a mine in the road.
Journalists have also been subjected to violence by the security forces while covering street protests against the government’s austerity measures.