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Journalists fear the strong arm
of the Congolese authorities
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Journalists in the
Democratic Republic of Congo can face strict reprisals from the national
intelligence agency for carrying out their work.
Outspoken
journalists in the conflict-hit Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fear the
powerful Agence
Nationale des Renseignements (ANR), the national intelligence
agency that constantly breathes down their necks, and hauls them on the coals
whenever they “go astray.”
“Going
astray” here means criticising government policies, and publishing or
broadcasting “provocative content” about the head of state, any member of the
government, the military and all members of the corrupt elite allied to the
government.
Lengthy
jail periods without trial and family visit, torture and acts of intimidation,
such as death threats, are all part of ANR’s strategies to put pressure on
journalists in a country where judges and magistrates are paid an extra-salary
by the state to close their independent eyes.
The
DRC was ranked 142rd and 160th by the Reporters Without
Borders World Press Freedom 2013 Index and Transparency International
Corruption 2012 Index, respectively.
Consistent
violations of human rights
Since
the 2006 elections, eight journalists have been killed in the line of duty in
the DRC, namely Franck Ngyke (slain alongside his wife Helen Mpaka), Bapuwa
Muamba, Serge Maheshe, Mutombo Kahilo, Patrick Kikuku, Didace Namujimbo, Bruno
Koko Cirambiza, and Pascal Kabungulu.
Several
Western governments, media rights campaigners and human rights organisations
continue to criticise ANR for constantly violating human rights and harassing
and detaining journalists without trial. But, the practice continues unabated.
In
its latest World Report, New York-based Human Rights
Watch painted a bleak picture of DRC’s human rights record, accusing state
security forces and Congolese and foreign armed groups of committing widespread
violations, including murder, torture, illegal detention and acts of
intimidation against opposition party members and supporters, human rights
activists and journalists.
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) deplored the unnecessary detention and
torture in mid-December of cameraman Djibril Wadiengoso by ANR agents.
Wadiengoso works for the government-controlled RTNC, Radio Télévision Nationale
Congolaise.
Pierre
Sosthène Kambindi, a broadcasting journalist for Kananga-based Christian Radio Television
was released after 106 days in ANR custody in
the capital Kinshasa. He recounted to the Journalists in Danger Media Network
(JED) the appalling conditions of his detention and unethical interrogation
techniques employed by ANR agents.
JED
said Kambindi was interrogated about his contacts in the main opposition
political party, the Democracy and Social Progress Union (UDPS), and the
reasons that led him to disseminate information on the defection of Colonel
John Tshibangu, a high-ranking officer of FARDC (DRC army).
Kambindi
was arrested in Kananga (Western Kasai Province) in late August last year, and
transferred to the capital Kinshasa after broadcasting a news item in
mid-August that claimed that Tshibangu had defected from the army and was about
to launch a protest movement to seek truth and justice behind the 2011 ‘rigged’
elections.
Prior
to his arrest, he was threatened by anonymous callers, with some promising to
slit his throat for ‘high treason’ and spreading lies about high-ranking army
officers.
Two
other journalists Dadou Etiom, (Nzondo
TV) and Guy Ngiaba (Bandundu
Tele 50), were held for nine days without charge in a prison
in the southwestern Bandundu Province, for ‘offending’ the provincial assembly
leader. They were also released in early December after each paying a fine of
$1,080, according to Journalists in Danger.
Tense
and repression-infested environment
In
DRC, reporting ‘comprehensively’ on the activities of opposition political
parties, especially the popular UDPS, can land a media house or a journalist in
jail, as photographer-cameraman Leki Dala found out. Dala was arrested in
October by ANR agents and Joseph Kabila’s Republican Guard who accused him of
being a ‘propagandist’ for the UDPS leader Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba.
DRC
journalists have been operating in a tense and repression-infested environment
prior to and following the 2011 controversial elections that put President
Joseph Kabila back into power. Populist veteran politician Tshisekedi still
claims he won the elections and refuses any negotiation with Kabila or be part
of what he calls his ‘illegitimate’ government.
Freelance
reporter Jeanne Kitenge* explained: “Every move you make is closely watched.
Sometimes I have the feeling that someone is following me on my way to work or
after work. I know it’s them. We are under pressure and it’s not good for our
health and safety. My parents are even suggesting that I leave the country. ANR
is really riding on our backs, big time.”
The
ANR, which usually does not address the press, operates in total secrecy, with
undercover agents scattered throughout schools, churches, marketplaces, press
conferences, hotels, pubs, music shows, stadiums, and hospitals, looking for
the ‘enemies’ of the state.
Renamed
ANR in 1997 by the late President Laurent Desiré Kabila and rising from the
ashes of Mobutu-led SNIP and DGSN, the organisation has been at the service of
successive governments and ruling parties for decades, and its bosses are
usually people seen loyal and close to the head of state.
Every
president who comes to power appoints people he trusts at the helm of the
organisation to ensure that he stays ‘safe.’ ANR is now headed by Kalev Mutond,
a Kabila ‘yes man’ and die-hard supporter.
Striking
fear into journalists and citizens alike
According
to a source close to ANR: “These guys are told to spy on journalists and
opposition politicians, as well as university lecturers who might bad-mouth the
regime to the media or write books compromising the regime – these are the
people they see as number one enemies and threats to the regime.”
Speaking
on condition of anonymity, the source said: “That’s how it works in a
dictatorship. Remember, Mobutu and Kabila senior did it. Most dictators who
come to power through fraudulent means, whether by a coup d’état or elections
rigging, become paranoid because every critic is questioning their legitimacy.
So they resort to brutal and cruel means to stay in power.”
Some
say many innocent people have died in ANR custody, but their families could not
complain or request independent investigations into the deaths for fear of
being persecuted.
Filming
or shooting a documentary in DRC can land one in deep trouble, as ANR agents
who constantly roam the country’s streets in unmarked vehicles detain everyone
caught in the act, including those who have permits.
Dolly
Ibefo, executive director of a local human rights organisation Voix des sans Voix (VSV,
Voice of the Voiceless), recently expressed serious concern about a wave of illegal arrests and detentions of
journalists, politicians, soldiers, civilians, lawyers,
university lecturers and students, many of whom he said are languishing in ANR
jails without access to medical care.
According
to Ibefo, two of those unnecessarily jailed are septuagenarians, who are
suffering serious psychological issues. Omer Tshituka Tshenda is 70-years-old,
while Clement Ntabala Kalenga is 73.
In
the east of the country besieged by war and massive human rights violations by
both rebels and government soldiers, the climate of fear is even more
frightening as ANR flexes its muscles and watches over journalists suspected of
“collaborating with Rwandan spies to overthrow the government.” Some have gone
into hiding, according to reports from tension-filled Goma, the capital of
North Kivu Province.
“In
Congo, we fear the ANR more than we fear God,” one journalist said on condition
of anonymity.
*The
reporter’s name has been changed to protect her identity.
Source: Doha Centre for Media Freedom.
Source: Doha Centre for Media Freedom.
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