The jamming of mobile network signals in South Africa's parliament during the scheduled State of the Nation 2015 Address earlier this month has been described by analysts as a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression and access to information.

Debate and legal action has resulted, despite authorities claiming the incident was a "technical glitch".

Dobek Pater, managing director of Africa Analysis, said that while nothing has yet been confirmed, it would seem this was a deliberate action to limit information exchange about proceedings within parliament.

He explained that while there are certain instances when authorities or state organs like the police or military have the ability to block out transmissions or communication channels (for the greater good of the country or in the interests of national security), this was not the case on Thursday 12 February.

The jamming of signals during SONA 2015 has been condemned by the SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef).

On its website, Sanef and the Press Gallery Association (PGA) expressed serious concern over Parliament's non-response regarding "requests for guarantees that the broadcasting of events in the National Assembly would not be stopped," even in the event of disruption or commotion.

Almost a week since SONA 2015 and regional online media have reported extensively on an urgent application by media representatives and organisations in the Western Cape High Court to ban the use of mobile networking blocking devices in Parliament.

The situation has moved the spotlight onto the freedom to access and exchange information in Africa.

The 2015 World Press Freedom Index, brought out by Reporters Without Borders, ranks countries based on criteria which includes the level of freedom of expression and the degree to which the right to inform and be informed is impacted.

Influences such as armed conflict, national security and surveillance, as well as censorship are all taken into account and discussed in context.

The following are the first ten African countries as they appear on the list of 180 countries, their respective list position and score.

According to the Index, this score (alongside each country) reflects the level intimidation to which journalists, media representatives and those focused on information exchange were subjected to in a specific year.

17. Namibia  -                         12.5

22. Ghana                              15.5

36. Cape Verde                      20.69

39. South Africa                     22.06

42. Botswana                        22.91

46. Burkina Faso                    23.79

47. Niger                                23.85

50. Comoros                          24.52

59. Malawi                             26.41

64. Madagascar                    27.43