North Kivu : Journalists in danger in the city of Goma

Two alleged perpetrators of the murder of Edmond Bahati, coordinator of the Maria-Goma radio station, capital of the North Kivu province were presented to the press by the military intelligence service on Monday. In this tourist city in eastern Congo, colleagues are targeted by attacks by gunmen. They call on local authorities and security officials to “protect us”. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Dieu Aimé Bauma, a tricycle driver in the city of Goma, admitted, indicating that he had collaborated with a certain Elisha Hemedi alias Mamadou, because of a conflict involving the late Edmond Bahati.

The mayor of the city of Goma, Senior Commissioner Kapend Kamand Faustin, reported that “the alleged murderers already under arrest will be urgently brought before the courts”.

The spokesperson for the 34th military region, Lieutenant Colonel Guillaume Njike Kaiko, spoke of “the full commitment of the authorities who manage the province of North Kivu under a state of siege, to see this crime punished”.

Edmond Bahati, in his forties, was murdered on the evening of September 27 as he was returning to his home in the Ndosho neighborhood in the district of Karisimbi, in the city of Goma.

The suspects escaped using a motorcycle after the crime.

According to information gathered from some of the victim’s colleagues, Edmond Bahati had spent the entire Friday at his office. He had never reported any threats against him.

Journalists threatened

On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, Gabriel Kashugushu, head of the online media “Les Volcans News”, was the victim of a burglary.

Armed bandits broke into his home, taking valuables and work equipment essential to his work as a journalist.

These incidents come in addition to a series of attacks targeting journalists in Goma.

They raise serious concerns about the safety of media professionals in this region where several dozen militias are operating, accused of daily abuses.

“[…] The thieves (armed bandits) did not choose their target at random. By taking Gabriel Kashugushu’s cameras, they directly undermined his ability to produce content and inform the people of Goma”, insists a local media professional.

“This targeted theft suggests a desire to muzzle the press and limit the dissemination of information,” he said.

Death threats against Philippe Birego

The journalist from UB FM radio in Goma has been receiving threats that are intensifying frequently.

He has been the target of intimidation for almost a week.

This escalation of violence occurs in an already very tense security context in the capital of North Kivu.

A few days earlier, unidentified individuals had burglarized his home, taking most of his belongings.

The death threats that followed suggest that these two events are linked.

The National Union of the Press of Congo (UNPC), North Kivu section, strongly condemns these actions and calls on the authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists and the entire population.

“The UNPC… condemns the threats received by journalist Philippe Birego from UB FM. It calls on the authorities to ensure the safety of journalists in particular, and of the entire population in general. Journalism is not a crime”; it said on its X account (formerly Twitter).

These repeated attacks against journalists in Goma are a serious attack on freedom of expression and highlight the need for increased protection of those who inform the population, believes the organization.

The city of Goma, in the grip of growing insecurity, sees new unfold tragedies every day.