21 Mar 12 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
A private television station in the Democratic Republic of Congo was stormed by unidentified men yesterday morning. Radio Télévision Kindu Maniema (RTKM) who broadcast from the capital of Maniema province was attacked by a group of men, who set fire to the station’s satellite antenna, and damaged the station’s offices. Programme presenter Mira Dipenge went into hiding five days ago, fearing he would be arrested following orders from the governor of the province, Tutu Salumu. In early February, Salumu ordered station management stop broadcasting call-in programmes in which callers could criticise his management of the province.
12 Jan 12 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
Two privately owned
Congolese newspapers were
suspended on 5 January. The order for suspension came from the director of the provincial media authority of Orientale, on the grounds that the Kisangani based Journal de la paix and Kisangani News violated a 1996 law establishing the “conditions for the operation of a free press in the DRC.” According to reports, a week prior to the suspension, Kisangani News editor-in-chief Sébastien Mulumba was called to the home of provincial governor Médard Autsai Asenga after the paper criticised the provincial government. Editor-in-chief of Journal de la paix Grégoire Ngubu claimed that he was threatened by the Asenga’s supporters. The recently created Congolese media regulation body, Higher Council for Broadcasting and Communications (CSAC) has already come
under fire from local rights groups, who called for the council to be disbanded, on the grounds that it has proven to be “incapable of assuming its independence” following “numerous cases of interference by politicians and security services in the affairs of the media.”
05 Jan 12 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
A French government-funded radio station has been shut down by authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Council of Ministers had ordered the “temporary” measure of switching off the six frequencies of Radio France Internationale, following its coverage of the violent aftermath of the November 2011 presidential elections. The frequencies will be suspended until the Congolese Broadcasting and Communications Superior Council, the new state-run media regulatory agency, has issued a decision on its reinstatement.
12 Dec 11 | Index Index, minipost
Seven people arrested at a London demonstration over the election result in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been charged. One hundred and thirty-nine people were arrested during Saturday’s demonstration which began at Whitehall and spread to Trafalgar Square. 116 people remain in custody, whilst seven have been charged with various offences, including obstructing the highway, breaching the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act and one assault on police. So far, 10 others who were arrested have been bailed to return pending further inquiries, and three were released with no further action.
