Local authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebel group have subjected several radio and television stations in the country to force closure.
At least 11 broadcasters have been closed or had programs suspended by provincial authorities or M23 in the last six months. M23 is a Rwanda-backed rebel group occupying several localities in the DRC’s North Kivu province.
Most recently, the Observatory for Press Freedom in Africa (OLPA) reported that on May 14, M23 suspended at least six media outlets – Radio Télévision Communautaire Horizon (RTC Horizon), Radio Communautaire Ushirika (RACOU), Radio Alliance, Radio La Vérité, Radio Télévision Évangélique pour le Développement Hermon (RTEDH) and Radio Union pour la Paix et la Promotion des Droits de l’Enfant (UPDECO), from broadcasting for 60 days.
According to OLPA, M23 alleged that the suspended radios stations aired programs that were inciting hatred. The rebel movement’s leaders have also imposed a requirement on the local media to give one hour of airtime per week for propaganda purposes.
Earlier, on February 4, M23 forces raided the community radio station Radio Communautaire pour la Paix de Bashali (RCPB) in Kitshanga, a region located about 170 km from the city of Goma. The rebels destroyed the premises and took away some broadcasting equipment. Out of fear for their life, the staff of the radio station went into hiding.
In other parts of the country, the closure of media outlets by the provincial authorities has been described by local media rights defenders and the country’s broadcast regulator as an abuse of power.
On January 9, Pascal Ernest Mulumba Kalenda, the provincial minister of communication and media of the Province of Lomami, in the central region of DRC, indefinitely suspended Radio Tokomi Wapi. According to OLPA, the radio was accused of not respecting the terms of reference, and not respecting journalistic ethics. However, the radio has rejected those allegations.
According to the DRC media legislation, le Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel et de la Communication (CSAC), the national media regulatory body, is the institution mandated to take action in the case of violation of regulatory rules. However, local authorities have in many cases asserted this power, in part due to the regulator’s absence at the local level.
The suspension of Radio Tokomi Wapi by provincial authorities was the latest in a series of broadcaster suspensions in DRC in the past six months. Two privately owned media channels, Radio Television Losanganya (RTL) and Radio Télé Grand Tam-Tam Sankuru (RTGTS), operating in Lodja, in the province of Sankuru in central DRC, were indefinitely suspended on October 25, 2022, by Bono Emakitshi, the administrator of the territory of Lodja. The radio was accused of inciting hate and a lack of ethics.
A third radio station, Radio Liberté Sankuru, was also sanctioned. However, this radio station has not been broadcasting for several years.
On September 17, Jules Lodi Emongo, governor of Sankuru province, ordered the suspension of two other privately owned radio stations – Radio Ekitela and Radio Numbampela – based in the city of Lomela.
In all of these cases, the broadcasters in question are privately owned and appear to have been critical of public leaders or authorities. Only three of the five radio stations suspended by local authorities – Radio Ekitela and Radio Numbampela – have resumed broadcasting activities, in December, and Radio Tokomi Wapi, on February 7, 2023, according to OLPA. In another case, Sarah FM in the province of Equateur has been closed down for two years now.