Media: Isanganiro and Bonesha FM radio managers summoned by the CNC

They responded to the summons by the executive secretary of the National Communication Council (CNC). They should explain the issue on the lives of sex workers (women and girls) broadcast on the two independent radio stations. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The directors of Isanganiro and Bonesha FM radios were called towards the end of last week. Sources within those radios say they were forced to explain themselves on the reports broadcast in their news. The reports unveiled the conditions of living of the women and girls who are sex workers in the province of Ngozi (north of the country).

According to our sources, the CNC accuses them of exaggeration in the description of the life of those prostitutes. The threats went as far as the charge of “undermining good morals”, an offense under the Burundian penal code.

For the managers of these targeted radio stations, the reports only focused on a case known for a long time, public women being often stigmatized in the Burundian society.

Our sources reveal that the executive secretary of the CNC, Chanel Nsabimbona, even ordered the heads of those radio stations to “punish the reporters of the day”.

The reports were part of a partnership between some Burundian media and the Dutch NGO, La Benevolencia.

Contacted media professionals say they are concerned about the fact that only Bonesha and Isanganiro radios have been summoned, whereas the same story had been dealt with by other radios such as Rema FM and Izere FM (close to the government).