The recent spike in physical assaults and threats directed at journalists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has extended into November, as the worsening Ebola virus outbreak has triggered a backlash against reporters covering the spread of the disease in the eastern part of the country.
Fear surrounding the Ebola outbreak, which has exploded into the second-worst on record since it was detected in May, has led to attacks on medical workers and raised the risk for reporters trying to counter rampant misinformation, with CPJ documenting attacks on two radio stations in the past week.
On November 4, at least six unidentified individuals beat Jackson Mbusa Vagheni, editor-in-chief of Radio du Peuple Oïcha, a community radio station in the North Kivu province town of Oïcha, as he was leaving his office. He sustained injuries to his leg, arms, and back, and went to a local hospital for treatment.
Mbusa, who has since gone into hiding and continues to receive threats by phone, told CPJ that the attackers accused him of spreading false information about Ebola. “The local population in the town of Oïcha does not tolerate the awareness-raising work we are conducting in the media regarding the Ebola virus,” he said.
On November 5, a group of unidentified youths armed with machetes entered Radiotélévision Bafwasende’s (RTBD) offices, in the northeast Tshopo province town of Bafwasende, and punched journalist Finance Sianga Bilanga. The attack was believed to be connected to Sianga’s involvement in Ebola awareness-raising activities, the radio station’s director, Ibrahim Mulamba, told CPJ. The journalist was not injured thanks to the neighbors’ intervention, he said.
Two weeks earlier, on October 24, Sianga had been attacked by unknown individuals following an RTBD report revealing that several local healthcare facilities had closed their doors and that medical staff had stopped coming to work, fearing threats from residents who view the Ebola epidemic as a fabrication, said Mulamba.
In an earlier incident involving Ebola-related reporting, Guillaume Munguakonkwa, a news presenter at community radio station Kamole FM, in the eastern South Kivu province locality of Nyangezi, was detained on July 27 and held for three days in a cell belonging to the intelligence service of the M23 and the Congo River Alliance (AFC), for producing a report on the Ebola virus. His voice recorder, mobile phone, and notebook were confiscated.
In two other recent incidents involving attacks on DRC journalists, CPJ was unable to determine whether they were targeted for their reporting.
On November 3, an armed man broke into the home of Zahabu Celemami, director of the YouTube-based news channel Clever Flash TV, in the South Kivu province town of Uvira, with the intent to kill him, Patient Debaba, the local president of the National Press Union of the Congo (UNPC), told CPJ.
When the intruder pointed his weapon at him, Zahabu lunged and seized the firearm. After a fierce struggle, the assailant fled. The next morning, Zahabu delivered the weapon to the local military intelligence office, which filed a report on the weapon seizure, reviewed by CPJ.
On November 7, an unidentified man burst into Radio Terra FM’s offices, in the Ituri province village of Kolokoto, and ordered staffers to leave the premises while attempting to force his way into the studio, the station’s director, Samuel Warom, told CPJ.
The man assaulted cameraman Mechak Piker and journalists Mungunuti Boaz, Innocent Jackson, and Dominique Ukochi, who sustained an injury to his right foot while attempting to come to his colleagues’ aid. The assailant was taken into custody by the Congolese National Police (PNC) and was set to be transferred to the public prosecutor’s office on November 10.
In February 2023, Radio Terra FM had been targeted with arson and death threats after the station raised awareness about corruption and environmental protection laws, Warom said.
Meanwhile, on November 6, individuals claiming to be close to the governor of Kasaï-Central province, Joseph-Moïse Kambulu Nkonko, sent a series of threats, reviewed by the CPJ, to members of the Collective of Investigative Journalists. The group, which includes journalists Jeff Mbuyi, Fabrice Mbumba, Jean-Pierre Kabue, Théodore Kadingu, and Vidram Mbuyi, had conducted an investigation into illegal gold mining in the Luiza territory, according to Jeff Mbuyi and Mbumba, who spoke with the CPJ. The report, which CPJ reviewed, was published by several local media outlets.
Following the investigation, the provincial assembly established a commission to review Kambulu’s administration of the province, which the unidentified individuals blame on the journalist collective.
When CPJ attempted to seek comment via phone and messaging app the military governor of North Kivu, Maj. Gen. Somo Kakule Évariste, and the governor of Tshopo province, Paulin Lendongolia Lebabonga, they did not answer. Kambulu told CPJ he would instruct one of his associates to return our call, but they have not.