Zacharie Kanku wa Buabua, a reporter with the privately owned Radio du Peuple, was detained on July 3, 2025, and held for two days over allegations of defaming an elected official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kasaï-Central province.
Authorities at the military prosecutor's office in the provincial capital, Kananga, arrested Kanku at around 8 a.m. and transferred him to the city’s central prison, the journalist’s lawyer, Michel Yimbu, told CPJ.
Yimbu said Kanku was accused of defamation and spreading false information on social media by naming provincial deputy Joseph Nkashama Kayombo as the provincial official that a local women’s rights group alleged had raped a minor. CPJ was unable to review copies of the posts.
Nkashama told CPJ via messaging app on July 4 that the local organization published its statement “without mentioning my name” but Kanuku “took it upon himself to relay this statement by specifically naming me.”
“I consider this defamation and the spreading of false rumors about me. I have approached a military jurisdiction to demand that [Kanuku] provide evidence of his allegations regarding my supposed rape of a minor, and only then will we go to a civil court,” he said.
Under the penal code, the penalty for defamation (Article 74) is a fine or up to one year in jail, defaming a public official (Article 76) is a fine or up to five years, and spreading false rumors (Article 124) is a fine or up to five years.
Kanku told CPJ that he was released on July 5 after a bail payment of 1,260,000 Congolese francs (US$450) and as of late October 2025 there had been no further action taken on the case.