Two journalists summoned, a third released

Two journalists were reportedly arrested in Kinshasa on Monday by “elements of the special services of the Congolese national police” and have been held in the “Kin-Maziere” detention facility, international freedom-of-the-press NGO Journaliste en danger (JED) announced from Kinshasa on Tuesday. Pierre Kapepa and Rigobert Kwakala Kashama, associate editor and director, respectively, of the twice-weekly ‘Le Moniteur’ newspaper were arrested while a third journalist from ‘Le Moniteur’ who had been arrested on 26 July, Marcel Guy Mujanayi, was reportedly released in exchange for the two, the JED statement said. “According to information obtained by the editorial staff of the newspaper, these arrests would have been ordered by Germain Mukandilwa, associate administrator-general of the Regie des voies aeriennes” (RVA - the DRC airport and airways agency), the JED statement said, noting that ‘Le Moniteur’ recently published a series of articles criticising the RVA and the management of Mukandilwa. JED said that the two journalists were on Wednesday transferred to the Parquet detention facility near the “tribunal de grande instance” in Kinshasa.