Tonga’s civic space is rated as ‘narrowed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Ongoing concerns documented include the existence of criminal defamation laws, restrictions on the media and risks faced by the LGBTQI+ community.
Expression
Female journalist threatened
A female journalist in Tonga was threatened at gunpoint following the broadcast of a news story about an Australian criminal deportee serving a life sentence in Tonga for methamphetamine importation.
The Fiji Times reported that the incident, in which an unknown individual threatened the journalist at the Kele’a Publications office in Nuku’alofa on 23rd April 2026, is under investigation by police.
Kele'a Publications manager Teisa Cokanasiga told RNZ Pacific that the man featured in the ABC's Foreign Correspondent documentary had plans to set up a chapter of the Comanchero, an Australian outlaw motorcycle gang, in Tonga.
Media Association of Tonga (MAT) President Katalina Uili Tohi expressed its profound shock and deep concern around the incident.
“The presence of a firearm in what is understood to be an act of intimidation represents a dangerous and unacceptable escalation against press freedom in the kingdom,” he said in a statement.
"MAT views this incident as a direct assault not only on the safety of an individual journalist but on the constitutional right of every Tongan to receive information without fear or favour. "[It] is appalled by this brazen act of intimidation. Journalists must be able to carry out their work without the threat of violence or death."
Radio station facing licence revocation for defamation
The Tonga Communications Commission (CCT) had issued a notification letter proposing revocation of the Network Operator Licence and FM Radio Transmitter Licence to Takiama Companies Ltd on 10th August 2026. The action stems from an official complaint lodged by Vava‘u 16 Member of Parliament, Dr. Viliami Latu to CCT to revoke the licence.
Dr. Latu alleges that 88.1FM defamed the Prime Minister and the Cabinet during its news broadcast on 5th August 2026. Following the complaint, CCT Chairman Rev. Samiuela Fonua formally notified the station, claiming it had violated several sections of the Communications Act 2015.
However, the CCT’s letter to 88.1FM failed to specify the exact statements or broadcast segments that allegedly breached the Defamation Act, the Communications Act, or the Constitution.
Under Section 2 of Tonga’s Defamation Act, defamation is defined as any spoken words, written text, publication, or visual representation that damages a person’s reputation or exposes them to hatred, ridicule, or contempt. The Act notes that repeating defamatory statements heard from someone else also constitutes an offence. Penalties carry a fine or a prison sentence.
Simultaneously, 88.1FM released a public press statement as response to the press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. Management raised concerns over the political weaponisation of regulatory bodies against independent media, pointing to Clause 7 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and the press.
Station representatives emphasised that they cannot properly answer to a crime or statutory breach without knowing the specific words they are accused of broadcasting. They maintained that their daily broadcasts serve the public interest, providing vital news filtered through standard editorial scrutiny.