DRC: Journalist arrested for "spying"
On 7 June 2004, Gustave Kalenga Kabanda, managing editor of the Kinshasa-based weekly "La Flamme du Congo" ("Congo's Flame") was arrested by judicial police at his home in Kinshasa-Ngaliema. Kalenga Kabanda was taken to the Kinshasa-Gombe Court's detention centre (commonly referred to as the "judicial locker"), where he was detained for 48 hours before being taken to the General Court's detention centre, near Kinshasa-Gombe's Court of First Instance. According to information obtained by JED, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, one of the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) four vice-presidents, accused Kalenga Kabanda of spying after he was caught filming renovations being made to Bemba Gombo's home in Gemena, a city in Equateur province, northern DRC.
ALERT - DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
10 June 2004
Journalist arrested for "spying"
SOURCE: Journaliste en danger (JED), Kinshasa
(JED/IFEX) - On 7 June 2004, Gustave Kalenga Kabanda, managing editor of the
Kinshasa-based weekly "La Flamme du Congo" ("Congo's Flame") was arrested by
judicial police at his home in Kinshasa-Ngaliema. Kalenga Kabanda was taken
to the Kinshasa-Gombe Court's detention centre (commonly referred to as the
"judicial locker"), where he was detained for 48 hours before being taken to
the General Court's detention centre, near Kinshasa-Gombe's Court of First
Instance.
According to information obtained by JED, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, one of
the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) four vice-presidents, accused
Kalenga Kabanda of spying after he was caught filming renovations being made
to Bemba Gombo's home in Gemena, a city in Equateur province, northern DRC.
Gemena is also home to the former rebel group The Congolese Liberation
Movement (Mouvement pour la libération du Congo, MLC). The journalist was
the head of a team of seven other journalists who were covering, between 29
May and 5 June, the return of Senator Jeannot Bemba Saolona to his hometown
after a five year absence. Bemba Saolona is Bemba Gombo's father.
During their stay in Gemena, the team filmed various properties belonging to
the Bemba Gombo family, including plantations and the worksite of the
family's residence in Gemena. They were arrested and taken into custody in
Gemena, where they were held for more than four hours by the MLC's
intelligence services, and accused of "filming the Bemba Gombo residence
without authorization." Cameras, cassettes and other communications
equipment were taken from the journalists.
On 1 June, Kalenga Kabanda appeared before Gemena's prosecutor general, who
accused the journalist of "residence violation". He was taken to Gemena's
central prison, where he spent five days before being granted a conditional
release and permission to return to Kinshasa. But on 6 June, at 5:00 a.m.
(local time), a colonel and five soldiers arrived at the journalist's home
to arrest him once again. They left after Kalenga Kabanda produced the
Gemena court's release documents.
On 7 June, Kalenga Kabanda was again arrested, this time by judicial police
investigators who claimed, according to witnesses, to be acting on
Vice-President Bemba Gombo's orders. Since his arrest in Kinshasa, the
journalist has reportedly not been charged.
For further information, contact D. M'Baya Tshimanga, president, Journaliste
en danger (JED), B.P. 633 Kinshasa 1, Democratic Republic of Congo, tel.
+243 99 29 323, +243 815 13 05 85, fax: +243 88 01 625, e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected], Internet:
http://www.jed-congo.org
The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of JED.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit JED.
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