DRC shuts down two radio stations for airing interview with opposition politician
Radio Liberte Lisala is owned by opposition party leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, who has been barred from running, while Radio Mwana Mboka is owned by opposition politician Crispin Bungdu
Nairobi — Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) closed two opposition radio stations, the latest in a series of clampdowns on the media as the country prepares for elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said. Voters are set to go to the polls on December 23 to elect a new leader as President Joseph Kabila steps down after 17 years in power. His anointed successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, faces competition from several opposition leaders. The central African nation has not had a peaceful transfer of power since it gained independence in 1960. Police raided the offices of Radio Liberte Lisala and Radio Mwana Mboka on October 9 and ejected employees after they aired an interview with an opposition politician who called for a tax boycott to protest poor services, the New York-based CPJ said on Thursday in an e-mailed statement. It urged the authorities to allow the broadcasters to reopen. “Congolese ruling-party politicians cannot arbitrarily decide to ...
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