By Jean Pierre Afadhali
A court in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo has sentenced Stanis Bujakera, a Congolese journalist to six months in prison, but he is expected to be released soon after spending nine months in jail.
Mr. Bujakera, a prominent journalist working with Reuters, Jeune Afrique and a local news website actualite.cd, was arrested on 8 September, last year after an anonymous article published by the French magazine Jeune Afrique, saying the Congolese military intelligence services were responsible for the murder of a former minister and opposition politician, Cherubin Okende.
The journalist was accused of publishing a “fake” document attributed to the country’s National Intelligence Service known for its French acronym ANR.
On Monday evening, a court in Kinshasa, fined the popular journalist $400 in addition to the prison sentence.
The correspondent of Jeune Afrique was convicted of falsification and forgery of documents. The prosecutor had requested a 20-year sentence in prison.
Bujakera’s arrest and subsequent trial sparked condemnation from local media fraternity and international media watchdog bodies such as Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said via X, formerly Twitter “CPJ is alarmed by the conviction of journalist Stanis Bujakera.” The media Watch body added “The fact that he has already spent over six months in jail and is expected to be released on time served is little consolation for the chilling message this sends to the media community.”
Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stated in a press release that it welcomed his imminent release, but he would never have been arrested, prosecuted and convicted, given that the case against him was “clearly fabricated”.
“At last! It took 192 days, seven requests for provisional release and international mobilisation for Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala to be notified of his imminent release.”
According to RSF, several security sources confirmed that the document quoted by Jeune Afrique did indeed come from the Congolese intelligence services, as claimed by the French magazine, the media outlet for which Stanis Bujakera is the DRC correspondent.
RSF further stated “This decision [the ruling] comes after a cabal that cost this journalist, who had absolutely nothing to reproach himself with, more than six months of freedom. Stanis Bujakera should never have been arrested. As our investigation has shown, the proceedings against him were based on spurious accusations.”
The DRC ranks 124th on RSF’s 2023 World Press Freedom Index.
