DRC: Soldiers raid private radio station in Tshikapa

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ALERT - DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

5 April 2004

Soldiers raid private radio station in Tshikapa

SOURCE: Journaliste en danger (JED), Kinshasa

(JED/IFEX) - On 1 April 2004, at around 7:30 p.m. (Kinshasa time), seven
Military Intelligence (Détection militaire des activités anti-patrie,
DEMIAP) soldiers and three National Intelligence Agency (Agence nationale
des renseignements, ANR) officers raided the offices of Radio Kilimandjaro,
a private station in Tshikapa, the second largest city in West Kasai
province, central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The soldiers stopped the broadcast as soon as they entered the station's
studios and ordered all of the staff members who were present to undergo a
two-minute voice test. After about an hour, the soldiers left the station,
leaving two of the ANR officers behind. Eyewitnesses told JED that
Jean-Marie Misenga, director of the ANR's Investigations Bureau, was among
the officers who participated in the raid. The DEMIAP soldiers and ANR
officers were reportedly searching for Sami Mbeto, host of the station's
Lingala-language programme "Tongo Etani, Ndeko ya Makambo". Mbeto was not at
the station at the time of the raid.

According to information obtained by JED at the station, during the 1 April
broadcast of his programme, Mbeto criticised the security services'
"degrading treatment" of Congolese citizens who are expelled from Angola and
return to the DRC via Tshikapa.

In a telephone discussion with JED on the evening of 1 April, Macaire Mwangu
Samba, West Kasai province's deputy governor, said he was unaware of the
raid on Radio Kilimandjaro and promised to contact officials in Tshikapa in
order to clarify the situation. The deputy governor called JED one hour
later to confirm that soldiers had indeed gone to the station, but specified
that the purpose of their "visit" was to pick up a soldier's child who had
been lost in the city and was found by a Radio Kilimandjaro journalist.
According to Tshikapa Mayor Hubert Mbingo Vula, the radio station had
reportedly demanded 500 francs (approx. US$1.5) after announcing on the air
that the child had been found.

Radio Kilimandjaro director Pontien Mukalu rejected the mayor's account of
events. He confirmed the story of the missing child, but said the mayor had
come to the station on the night of 1 to 2 April and spoken with the two ANR
officers who had remained there after the raid. "He did not speak to any of
the journalists present," Mukalu told JED. The station director said the
soldiers were searching for Mbeto and had stopped the station's broadcasts
during the raid. Mukalu said the station was allowed to resume its
broadcasts after the mayor's visit.

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 81513 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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