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Adolphe
Chebeye lives in fear of his life despite relocating to Kampala, Uganda
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Similar
to other countries in East Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo has
witnessed and continues to experience frightening levels of violence, forcing
many people to leave their home country and seek refuge elsewhere.
Among
the thousands of refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries are a large
number of journalists, many of whom were targeted for their work, decided to
escape amidst threats and extreme danger.
Sharing
a border with DRC, Uganda has become a popular destination for exiled Congolese
journalists. However, journalists remain frightened for their lives even
after relocation. And with good reason.
“Living
under fear”
Despite
fleeing to Kampala, Adolphe Chebeye still lives in constant fear. Working
for the radio network RTGB
in his home country of DRC, he witnessed massacres, genocide and
mass human rights violations, all of which he and his brother, who worked at
the same station, documented. However, their work and their inside
knowledge of the behaviour of rebel leader, General Kakolele, made them
targets.
Adolphe’s
brother, Patient Chebeye was killed, and while three people were charged with
his murder, Adolphe is sure that the real masterminds behind his brother’s
death remain at large. He also feels that his own life is in danger,
partly due to the fact that a friend of his, who was mistaken for Adolphe, was
recently brutally beaten.
According
to a report by the Criminal Intelligence office in Kamapala: “All of this is a
risk to the life of the subject who is living under fear.”
“The
life of the subject is indeed under threat because of being a witness in cases
of crimes against humanity,” it continues.
Crimes
against humanity
However,
Chebeye’s case is by no means a one-off. Spending time with exiled
journalists in Kampala, it becomes clear that media workers from DRC have
experienced and been subjected to unimaginable horrors.
Stervoce
Kibandja Shandwe, a 32-year-old journalist and human rights activist who fled
to Kampala in 2008, was forced from his country because of his “reports on
crimes against humanity.”
His
mother and father were killed, his brother was sodomised by government forces,
his sister was raped and his wife and young son were taken from their
home. He later discovered that his wife, taken to be an army General’s
wife, had been killed during a raid.
After
relocating to Kampala, Stervoce continues to face incredible hardship.
His sister has been raped again, this time by Ugandan government forces, and he
has now been left with another mouth to feed, as well as a range of medical
issues to deal with.
“I
wanted to carry on my work and serve my nation – that is my wish,” he said,
adding “journalists these days in our country don’t have a value and face very
bad things.”
Benoit
Tshikombe Wa Beka was working as a freelance journalist when he was forced to
flee DRC after writing on issues related to insecurity, government corruption,
treatment of Rwandan refugees and problems on the border with Angola.
“They
did not want coverage of these issues and I was hunted by the government,
arrested and tortured,” he saidexplaining that the families of journalists who
were covering these topics had also been harassed.
As
he fled to a neighbouring province for his safety, Benoit said that government
soldiers visited his home, raped his wife, pillaged his home and violated his
children.
His
family joined him in another village, seeking safety, but Benoit was taken and
drugged by government forces who raped his wife once more.
“I
felt down and I told them just to kill me,” he said, adding that he told the
soldiers “I am useless now.”
Benoit
and his family then fled to Uganda, where he now lives, jobless. His
family members at home have been killed, and his brother who had also escaped
to Kampala, was sent to an IDP camp where he was seized and forced to join
Congolese forces.
“In
our country they don’t want people to be informed, but we want to inform them –
that is why we are facing problems,” he added.
Insecurity
for speaking out
Andre
Ndagije Mubera, 37, is now living in exile in Kampala with his wife, four
children and three orphans who the family have taken in.
“I
faced insecurity for speaking out against crimes and violations against
journalists,” he said.
“I
was arrested in 2006 and spent three days in jail with nobody knowing,” he
explained, noting that he was later released.
However,
when government forces came to arrest him 2008, the results were tragic.
“I was not around, but unfortunately they found my wife who was at home, with
my children and young sister. They took my wife and raped her, and my
young sister was beaten – when she started quarrelling with them, they killed
her. That’s why I decided to leave Goma and come this way.”
“Even
here I am not safe and not secure, and the living cost in Kampala is so high,”
he said, explaining that he has also been arrested in Uganda.
“I
need to get a safe place, and I need to be able to help educate my family –
that is my wish,” Andre added.
“No
journalism…no truth”
Journalists
of all ages have faced persecution in DRC, and while there are a large number
of young media professionals living in exile, older media workers have also had
to flee.
Kamalebo
Wa Munyakasubi is 55 years-old. Because of his work highlighting
gender-based violence in DRC, he was forced to flee to Kampala in 2009. He now
lives in his adopted home with his wife and three children.
“Really,
the cost of life is very high and life is very bad,” he said, adding that he
has had to move outside the city because of his lack of financial resources.
“I
don’t feel safe here – when I ask people about Congo, people tell me that they
are still looking for me and I cannot go back to the country.”
“Media
freedom is very important if there is democracy, but right now you can say in
Congo that there is no journalism because there is no democracy and there is no
truth,” he added.
Communication
and verification issues
John
Kalume is the East and Horn of Africa coordinator for Freedom and Rights Initiative, an
organisation aimed at providing assistance to journalists in need. Himself
an exiled journalist from DR Congo, Kalume described life in Kampala as posing
“many problems.”
“There
are security concerns – some armed groups pursue us here,” he said,
adding “we are not safe.”
He
explained that his organisation attempts to help journalists from across the
region through advocacy and putting pressure on decision makers.
However,
as is often the case, there are serious difficulties in determining exactly who
are journalists and who are refugees fleeing for other reasons. “Everyone
is living in miserable conditions, and they see that journalists can receive
assistance, so they claim to be journalists,” he said, explaining that he has
identified ten people posing as media workers in the past.
Kalume
noted that there are many other “true journalists” with whom his organisation
has been unable to establish contact, adding that media workers remain
committed to the spirit of their profession, whatever their circumstances.
“We
are all still journalists and we will die journalists – if we don’t continue
our work then we will never be able to change our country.”
Unwavering
commitment
All
the journalists DCMF met in Kampala were passionate about their work and wholly
committed to the profession of journalism, despite the difficulties they have faced
because of their careers.
The
human cost they have paid for working in the media is almost unconceivable, and
after the hardship they have faced, they find themselves in an unknown country,
lacking language skills, financial sustenance and basic accommodation.
However,
most importantly they lack safety and security. While they have fled
their homes, they still feel the threats of Congolese agents and are unable to
trust anyone they meet. And yet they remain committed to protecting media
freedom, to spreading the truth of the atrocities they have witnessed and to
developing their own professional ability in the future.
These
brave journalists require a safe haven to fulfill their potential and their
professional capacity. Unfortunately, Kampala does not offer them the effective
protection they need as they await a date when returning to DRC will once again
be possible.
As
for now, waiting for news about resettlement applications, Kalume and his
colleagues dream of returning to their homeland: “We would like to return to
our beautiful country, but when war is over, when there is rule of law, good
governance and democracy. Including media freedom, freedom of access to
information and freedom of expression.”
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