Two Congolese journalists have been released after being placed in “arbitrary detention” for four days by a prosecutor in Kinshasa, their TV channel told AFP on Friday.
The pair were arrested on Tuesday during a report on a land dispute in Kinkole, a village on the outskirts of the DR Congo capital, involving a mayor accused of issuing death threats to residents, according to Kaly Kalonda from RLTV.
They were accused of poor journalistic practice by the magistrate, he said.
“Yolande Kusaya and Cedrick Kidimbu are released, no charges are brought against them by the prosecutor of Kinkole,” said Kalonda.
Journalists are frequently arrested and detained in DR Congo which ranked 154 out of 180 in the Reporters Without Borders’ 2017 Press Freedom Index.
TENSE CLIMATE
The political climate is tense due to uncertainty over whether President Joseph Kabila will seek another term in office with elections due on December 23.
In power since 2001, Kabila has faced calls from the United States, France and Britain for him to clearly state that he will step aside and not run in the polls.
Watchdogs for media freedom and human rights have said they are worried about crackdowns on journalists in the run up to the vote.
In a separate development, the National Press Union in DR Congo announced a boycott of the country’s justice minister on Friday over remarks deemed “offensive” to journalists.
The union said a six-month embargo would be imposed on Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe from next Tuesday due to his behaviour towards reporters.
Thambwe treated Congolese journalists as “shabby, miserable people who write anything for little money,” according to Joseph Kasonga Tshilunde, president of the National Press Union of Congo.
“His remarks are offensive, contemptuous, irresponsible and disrespectful,” he added.
A source at the Justice ministry told AFP that the minister “does not intend to react” to the announcement, describing it as a “dramatisation”.
The minister had talked “about some journalists”, not all of them, the source said.
