Threats, exile, censorship: DRC journalists besieged in year of rebel rule
For Congolese journalist Prince Cikala Mihigo, the first day of 2026 brought a brutal reminder of the risks of reporting: rebel soldiers beat and kicked him while questioning him about his work, leaving his face swollen and raw. Cikala was assaulted at a checkpoint in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern city of Bukavu,…