Alarm as Media Freedom Violations continue to spike in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Eastern Africa Editors Society in its weekly media monitoring on press freedom violations, continues to track outlets and social media channels, in an effort to keep abreast of incidences of harassment, threats, censorship, regulations and intimidation meted out towards journalists and media houses by governments and other stakeholders in the Eastern Africa Region. 

Media stake holders addressing the press. Picture Courtesy||Reuters

In the past three(3) months, the Democratic Republic of Congo has appeared on our radar with reports of attacks on journalists. In August 2023, there were reports of at least seven journalists harassed or attacked by political actors of all sides in the capital, Kinshasa, and the central city of Kananga. One journalist was the target of a criminal defamation case brought to court by a politician. Journalists’ safety is clearly under threat as the tensions are fuelled by the elections scheduled for 20 December 2023, in which President Félix Tshisekedi is seeking another term.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has also noted these violations, the Director of the sub-Sahara Africa bureau Mr. Sadibou Marong has been quoted saying, “Every day in the DRC brings its share of violence against journalists. It has become very worrying, especially as some of the attacks are the work of politicians or their supporters. With four months to go to the elections, politicians must respect the crucial role of the media. To help deter and prevent any type of attack against journalists, RSF calls on the authorities to issue and widely publicise a statement to all candidates and parties in the running, as well as to the security forces, reminding them that the media and journalists are essential to the democratic process and that anyone who threatens their safety or interferes with their right to inform and the public’s right to be informed will have to face the full force of the law.”

With four months to go before the elections, the political class must respect the crucial role of the media.

©ALEXIS HUGUET / AFP

In the month of September, Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala the DRC correspondent for Thomson Reuters and Jeune Afrique, Actualité CD’s deputy Editor was arrested by security agents at Kinshasa’s N’djili International Airport as he was about to board a flight to the city of Lubumbashi in the south-east of the DRC on a business trip. He was questioned about an article that cited a leaked confidential report attributed to the National Intelligence Agency (ANR). The report is believed to implicate military intelligence services in the abduction and murder of an opposition MP last July and thus calls into question the authorities’ official version of the case. On 11 September, Stanis Bujakera was charged with “spreading rumours” and “disseminating fake news”, even though he was not named as the author of the article in question. He risks being jailed for 15 years.

These are just a sample of the cases we’ve recorded in DRC. We condemn these actions as it is an infringement of democracy. Democracy and journalism are interlinked in their pursuit of truth, transparency, accountability, and the protection of freedom of expression. A strong democracy provides the necessary framework for journalists to carry out their essential role in informing the public and holding those in power accountable for their actions.

We call upon the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to allow journalists to perform their duties without fear of intimidation.