Attacks on DR Congo journalists spike, fuelled in part by Ebola reporting, CPJ documents
The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented a spike in physical assaults and threats against journalists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo extending into November, driven in part by a backlash against reporting on the Ebola outbreak in the east. A radio editor in North Kivu was beaten by men who accused him of spreading false information about Ebola, a Tshopo journalist was attacked twice after Ebola coverage, and a South Kivu presenter was held for three days by an armed group's intelligence service over an Ebola report. CPJ says the governors of North Kivu and Tshopo did not answer its requests for comment.
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Key points
- CPJ has documented a spike in assaults and threats against DR Congo journalists extending into November, fuelled in part by backlash against Ebola reporting.
- A North Kivu radio editor was beaten by men who accused him of spreading false information about Ebola; a Tshopo journalist was attacked twice after Ebola coverage.
- A South Kivu presenter was held for three days by the M23/AFC intelligence service over an Ebola report, his equipment confiscated.
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- CPJ's requests for comment to the governors of North Kivu and Tshopo went unanswered.
What happened
Fear surrounding the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo — which CPJ notes has become the second-worst on record since it was detected in May — has led to attacks on medical workers and raised the risk for reporters trying to counter misinformation. CPJ documented attacks on two radio stations in the past week alone.
The November incidents span four provinces — North Kivu, Tshopo, South Kivu and Ituri — plus threats against investigative journalists in Kasaï-Central over a gold-mining investigation, a pattern that goes beyond the Ebola backlash alone.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That CPJ has documented the November assaults and threats, from the victims', station directors' and press union's accounts.
- That at least two attacks were directly tied by those involved to Ebola reporting, and a presenter was detained over an Ebola report.
- That the governors of North Kivu and Tshopo did not answer CPJ's requests for comment.
What we don't know yet
- Who carried out the Oïcha and Bafwasende attacks — no arrests have been reported.
- Whether the attacks on Zahabu Celemami and Radio Terra FM were because of their journalism — CPJ could not determine a motive.
- Any Congolese authority response to the documented pattern, or whether anyone will be charged.
Claim by claim
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Why this label: CPJ's own documented account, from the victim's direct account to CPJ; the same report was carried by AllAfrica. The beating and the stated motive rest on the victim's testimony to the press-freedom organisation that documented it.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: CPJ's documented account, from the station director's direct account to CPJ.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: CPJ's documented account of the detention; CPJ has separately campaigned on Munguakonkwa's case since July.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The incidents are documented by CPJ from the press union's and the station director's accounts, and CPJ reviewed the military-intelligence report on the seized weapon and photographed the Ituri suspect in custody. Whether either attack was because of the victims' journalism is not established, and CPJ says so itself.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: CPJ reviewed the threats itself and records its own unanswered comment requests. The threats are carried as claims by the journalists who received them, with the documents seen by CPJ.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
In an Ebola outbreak, local radio is often the only trusted channel for the awareness messages that stop transmission. When the journalists carrying those messages are beaten, detained or threatened into hiding, the outbreak response loses its voice in exactly the communities where suspicion of the disease runs highest.
Background
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The current Ebola outbreak is detected in eastern DR Congo; it has since become the second-worst on record.
Kamole FM presenter Guillaume Munguakonkwa is detained for three days by the M23/AFC intelligence service in South Kivu over an Ebola report.
RTBD journalist Finance Sianga Bilanga is attacked after a report on health facilities closing over Ebola fears.
A week of incidents: the Oïcha beating, the RTBD office attack, the Uvira home invasion, threats to investigative journalists in Kasaï-Central, and the Radio Terra FM assault.
CPJ publishes its documentation of the spike in attacks.
Update history
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Published in Checking state — the assaults and threats are documented by CPJ, and no Congolese authority response has been reported.