Thomson Unji Batangalwa Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

Thomson Unji Batangalwa interviews a local leader about security on Radio Le Messager du Peuple, days after rebels took over the eastern city of Uvira in December. When the government retook the city in January, police detained the journalist.

2 DRC journalists detained for war reporting in restive east

January 29, 2026 12:51 PM EST

Kinshasa, January 29, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to immediately release Thomson Unji Batangalwa, who was detained on January 22 in the eastern city of Baraka, the latest journalist to be harassed for reporting on the fluid security situation. “Information about the war in eastern DRC…