Conditions for the press in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have improved somewhat since the government of President Joseph Kabila signed a peace accord with the main rebel groups in December 2002, ending four years of devastating civil war. However, local journalists still endure harassment, legal action, and imprisonment. They also have come under…
New York, February 11, 2005—A reporter with the Congolese private daily La Référence Plus jailed on defamation charges has been freed, CPJ has learned. A Kinshasa court granted José Wakadila a provisional release on February 8. He was freed that day after paying bail equivalent to US$200, according to local press freedom group Journaliste en…
New York, February 2, 2005—-A reporter with the Congolese private daily La Référence Plus was taken into custody on Monday and imprisoned in the western town of Matadi on defamation charges brought by two national oil executives. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for his immediate release. In September, a Kinshasa court sentenced José…
JANUARY 31, 2005 Posted: February 14, 2005 José Wakadila, La Référence PlusIMPRISONED Wakadila, a reporter with the private daily La Référence Plus, was taken into custody and imprisoned in the western town of Matadi on defamation charges brought by two national oil executives.
New York, January 21, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is troubled that the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has imposed restrictions on the content of private broadcasters. A memo issued by DRC Information Minister Henri Mova Sakanyi on January 18 states that “religious and thematic” broadcasters should refrain from airing all news and…
JANUARY 18, 2005 Posted: February 2, 2005 Canal Kin TV Canal Congo TV Radio Liberté Kinshasa CENSORED Officials cut the transmissions of two private television stations and a radio station owned by Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba—Canal Kin TV (CKTV), Canal Congo TV (CCTV), and Radio Liberté Kinshasa (RALIK).
JANUARY 18, 2005 Posted: February 2, 2005 All Media CENSORED A memo issued by DRC Information Minister Henri Mova Sakanyi states that “religious and thematic” broadcasters should refrain from airing all news and political programs and orders the suspension of all live phone-in programs.
New York, January 18, 2005—A reporter with the independent Congolese daily La Référence Plus was sentenced in absentia to four months in jail for criminal defamation on January 5, according to local press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) and sources at the newspaper. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the ruling and called on…
JANUARY 5, 2005 Posted: January 27, 2005 Deo Mulima Kampuku, La Référence Plus LEGAL ACTION Mulima, a reporter with the independent Congolese daily La Référence Plus, was sentenced in absentia to four months in jail for criminal defamation on January 5, according to local press freedom group Journaliste en Danger (JED) and sources at the…
New York, August 9, 2004—Seven employees of an evangelical radio station that was shuttered last week were freed on Saturday, August 7, without charge. The station, Radio Hosanna, in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Lubumbashi, remains closed. The station has been shut down since August 4, when national intelligence agents and police…