While fighting
continues in the North Kivu province of the DR Congo in spite of a well-publicised ceasefire,
in the relatively peaceful neighboring province of South Kivu yet another journalist has been
murdered. On the 21st of November Didace Namujimbo, who worked for the UN-backed Radio Okapi,
was shot in the head when he
was returning to his home in the evening.
Spanish journalist Hernán Zin met Namujimbo in his office when he traveled to Bukavu last
summer to report on sexual violence as a weapon of war. He
described him in his blog Viaje a la guerra [Es] (Journey into war):
Un hombre alto, de buena presencia, que hablaba un francés impoluto. El primer rostro
amigo que encontré en el Congo.
A tall man, with a smart appearance, that spoke with an impeccable French. The first friendly
face I met in the Congo.
And he added [Es]:
Además de una honda tristeza, me vuelven recuerdos de las conversaciones que mantuvimos
sobre la muerte de su compañero
Serge Maheshe, el 13 de junio de 2007. Hablamos sobre quiénes podrían ser los
culpables, pues yo tenía la intención de incluir su historia en la sección
de este blog Morir para
contar.
Besides deep sadness, I'm also reflecting on the conversations we had about the death of his
colleague
Serge
Maheshe on the 13th of June 2007. We spoke about who would be the culprits, since I was
planning to include his story in the section of this blog called
Morir para contar (Dying to tell).
Radio Okapi news editor Serge Maheshe had been shot in the head on the evening of the 13th of
June 2007 when he was returning home, in the exact same way as his colleague and friend Didace
Namujimbo a year and a half later. A year after Maheshe's murder, former Kinshasa Radio Okapi
journalist Cédric
Kalonji wrote [Fr] about the impunity for such crimes in the DRC:
Je constate amèrement que la justice, pilier de l’autorité de
l’État qui est le fondement même de la démocratie ne fonctionne pas au
Congo. Quand aurons-nous, et qui rétablira une justice efficace et indépendante
dans ce pays?
I bitterly realize that justice, the pillar of the State's authority which is the very
foundation of democracy, is not working in the Congo. When are we going to have, and go is going to
restore an efficient and independent judicial system in this country?
Now Cédric Kalonji wonders [Fr] again about the
state of democracy in his country:
En apprenant cette nouvelle, je suis partagé entre douleur, tristesse et colère. Je
me demande comment la démocratie s’installera durablement dans un pays où on
est visiblement allergique aux journalistes indépendants et professionnels. Devons-nous
laisser le Congo entre les seules mains des hommes forts, ceux qui sont armés?
After learning this news, I was torn between pain, sadness and anger. I asked myself how a
democracy can last in a country so visibly allergic to independent, professional journalists. Must
we leave Congo only in the hands of the strong men, those who are armed?
Kalire [Fr] thinks that Didace
Namujimbo's murder represents many others:
Comme Didace, ils sont nombreux à se faire tuer dans le Kivu.
Se faire tuer par «des inconnus», par on ne sait même pas qui: des
«rebelles»? des militaires congolais? des bandes de pillards? des voisins jaloux?
Comme Didace, ils sont des centaines à se faire tuer, violer par des
«inconnus».
Mais Didace est... était journaliste.
C’est pourquoi sa mort peut parler pour celle des autres.
Like Didace, there are many journalists being killed in the Kivus.
Being killed by “strangers”, we don't even know who: “rebels”? Congolese
servicemen? gangs of looters? jealous neighbors?
Like Didace, there are hundreds of people being killed, being raped by “strangers”.
But Didace is… was a journalist.
That's why his death can speak for that of others.
Freddy Mulongo [Fr] at the Radio Revéil FM blog, remembers the six media professionals
that have been murdered in similar circumstances during the last three years, including Didace
Namujimbo and Serge Maheshe. In his post, he summarizes
what all those cases have in common:
Les scénarios sont les mêmes: tous les journalistes congolais sont tués la
nuit, à proximité de leur domicile, on retrouve sur eux l'argent mais leur
appareils téléphoniques… Et après on arrête des
“innocents” que l'on présente comme des assassins. On organise une mascarade
de procès souvent dans un auditorat militaire, il arrive parfois que les
présumés assassins se rebiffent, pendant ce temps les vrais commanditaires courent
toujours et jouissent de l'impunité.
The scenarios are the same: all the Congolese journalists are killed at night, close to their
homes, their money is still on them but not their mobile phones… And then some
“innocent” people are arrested and presented as the assassins. A farce of a trial is
organized, often at the military court, sometimes the alleged killers fight back, and during that
time the real sleeping partners are running free and enjoying impunity.
For Freddy Mulongo, the situation of media professionals in the DRC is grim:
Ils sont journalistes et professionnels des médias en danger car comme le dit si bien
l'adage des Peuls dans l'extrême Nord du Cameroun: “Si on rase ton camarade.
Mouille-toi la tête, ton tour arrive!” A qui le tour? Qui sera le prochain victime?
They are journalists and media professionals in danger, because as the adage of the Peuls
people in Northern Cameroon goes: “If your neighbor is being shaved. Soak your head, it's
your turn!” So whose turn is it? Who is going to be the next victim?
Colette Braeckman [Fr] , a Belgian journalist and author expert in Central Africa, upon learning
about Didace Namujimbo's murder
wondered:
Comment concilier ces assassinats, qui semblent être d’origine mafieuse ou politique,
avec l’état de droit dont les élections de 2006 auraient du marquer la
naissance, avec « la fin de la récréation » solennellement
annoncée par le président le jour de son investiture?
How can we reconcile these murders, that seem to have a mafia or political motivation, with the
rule of law marked by the 2006 elections, with the “recreation is over” announced
solemnly by the President on the day of his inauguration?
Also this week Human Rights Watch has released a new report titled “We will crush you“, on
the restriction of political space in the DRC in which as Colette Braeckman notes “they
pass a very hard judgement on the two years following the elections”. In the summary of the
report they wrote:
Government agents have also threatened, arrested, tortured, and otherwise harassed journalists
and members of civil society who were linked to political opponents or who protested abuses
against them.
The summary concludes:
Elections themselves cannot bring democracy. Congolese and international actors must work to
establish an independent judiciary and a vibrant parliament with an effective opposition to
improve human rights, hold the executive to account for its actions, and counterbalance the
restriction of political space. Failure to establish such counterweights will endanger
Congo’s young democracy.
(Photo of Didace Namujimbo in
his Radio Okapi office in Bukavu, taken last May by Elia Varela Serra)
Recommandations
)
and reject those that you are not interested in
(
)
