Congolese Journalists Fear Assassination

Didace Namujimbu, a journalist with Congo’s Radio Okapi, was shot dead in cold blood just a few metres from his home in Bukavu on November 22.

Aged 30, intelligent, experienced and joyful, Namujimbu invested all his energy in giving clear and accurate information to the public in Bukavu, in eastern Congo’s South Kivu province, and to all the Congolese listening to Radio Okapi around the country.

He was dedicated to searching for the truth and was a keen sportsman, particularly skilled at basketball.

Namujimbu is the second Radio Okapi journalist to be murdered in the last year and a half. His colleague and friend, Serge Maheshe, was shot on June 13, 2007.

Although Bukavu military court sentenced three civilians to death for the killing of Maheshe, local and international legal experts described the trial as flawed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, reported that only Namujimbu’s mobile phone was stolen during the attack and not his wallet containing 50 US dollars. News reports said neighbours heard a heated exchange before he was killed by a single bullet to the head.

According to the CPJ, Namujimbu was the fifth Congolese journalist to be murdered since 2005. The other three are Patrick Kikuku Wilungula, Franck Ngyke Kangundu and Bapuwa Mwamba. The motives for all the killings remain unclear.

What is clear is that journalism is an increasingly dangerous profession in Congo. A few months ago, Kubali Kikuni, a cameraman with Congolese state television, was badly beaten by men in uniforms not far from a military camp in Bukavu.

Donat Musema, the director of Bukavu’s Radio Iriba, says he is appalled by the violence and wonders who will be targeted next. That is the question concerning many Congolese journalists who work under bad conditions, in insecurity and with no freedom of expression.

At the beginning of the tensions in North Kivu between troops of the Congolese army, the FARDC, and those from the rebel National Congress for People’s Defence, CNDP, provincial authorities were asking journalists to display more “patriotism” in their articles.

Patriotism, what does that mean?

Did the journalist from Radio Walikale in North Kivu who was recently arrested by an agent from the National Intelligence Agency, ANR, which investigates crimes against the state like treason and conspiracy, show insufficient patriotism? His “crime” was broadcasting an interview with CNDP spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa.

This insecurity and fear of assassination which Congolese journalists face every day has always existed.

To report the opposite of what the authorities say or to denounce some misappropriation or embezzlement by officials is not possible. Journalists who do so are beaten up and jailed by the police and the ANR.

One example of a story too sensitive for publication concerned the theft of food intended for FARDC troops on the frontline in North Kivu. Supplies were being hijacked with some ending up at the markets of Kisangani.

Journalist in Danger, JED, an NGO which defends the rights of the press, wrote in an open letter to President Joseph Kabila that without freedom of expression and protection from intimidation, the work of Congolese journalists becomes impossible.

In the meantime, journalists are being urged to take great care. But their work schedule makes that difficult. They often leave home early in the morning and don’t return until late at night, via public transport, when the streets of Bukavu are dark and empty.

Power cuts are frequent and journalists, for the most part, live in dark neighbourhoods – the places where they are most vulnerable.

“From 7pm, you have to avoid dark places and go straight to [well-lit] places,” said Leon Baroani, a former journalist at Bukvu's Radio Agatashya and now the office director of the NGO Search for Common Ground in Bukavu.

Donat Mbaya, coordinator of JED, urged journalists in May 2008 to take precautions.

“You shouldn’t take the same roads every day. You should have several phone numbers to avoid being tracked. You should have contacts in cases of threats. Have a refuge that only you know about,” he advised.

Meanwhile, the insecurity remains and Namujimbu has been assassinated. Congolese are asking, who will be next?

Ewing Amadi Salumu is a Bukavu-based journalist, and the Swahili presenter of IWPR’s Facing Justice radio programme.

The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of IWPR.