Media watchdog decries poor health of jailed journalist

An international media watchdog, Reporters sans frontieres (RSF), has said it would hold the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila "personally responsible" for the continuing deterioration of the health of a journalist imprisoned in early September. Delly Bonsange, editor of the daily newspaper Alerte Plus, was admitted to Mama Yemo Hospital in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, on 26 September for emergency care following the continued decline of his health due to lack of treatment for diabetes. In a statement on Monday, RSF described Bonsange's condition as critical. Together with the Alerte Plus managing director, Raymond Kabala, who was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, Bonsange was sentenced to six months on 6 September by a Kinshasa court for publishing a report that DRC Security Minister Mwenze Kongolo had been poisoned. Next day, Alerte Plus had published a corrigendum stating that the information was false, RSF reported. "The sentence is excessive and is meant to curb the growth of the private media in the DRC and ensure that Alerte Plus is not published again," Robert Menard, the RSF secretary-general, said on 9 September. RSF asked that the sentence be repealed and called for the immediate release of the two journalists. In addition to being jailed, the two journalists were ordered to pay Kongolo an estimated US $300,000 in damages. The DRC government spokesman, Kikaya bin Karubi, said on 10 September that the sentence was just, and would prevent journalists from making irresponsible statements.