A Kinshasa Court began a trial of a prominent DR Congo reporter, arrested over an article suggesting that intelligence agents assassinated an opposition politician.
Stanis Bujakera, who works for Reuters and Jeune Afrique magazine, was arrested on September 8 and transferred to prison less than a week later on suspicion of spreading false information.
His arrest followed a Jeune Afrique article published in late August, which suggested that Congolese military intelligence had killed opposition politician Cherubin Okende in July.
The article — which was unsigned — was based on an alleged confidential memo from a separate intelligence agency.
However, Congolese authorities have said the memo is fake and lacks merit and basis and it was spread to tarnish the name of the Congo Military forces.
Bujakera’s trial began on Friday inside the Makala prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, according to an AFP reporter present.
The 33-year-old’s lawyers successfully petitioned the court on Friday to delay the proceedings by one week in order to better prepare their case.
But no immediate decision was made regarding a request to temporarily release Bujakera on humanitarian grounds, given the poor conditions in Makala.
The rial comes amid rising political tensions in the DRC ahead of a presidential and parliamentary election scheduled for December 20.
REF: AFP
