The Director of Baronnie de Byakato radio – television, Joel Mumbere Musavuli, was stabbed and killed with his wife at his home by suspected Mai- Mai militiamen, a community based militia group, in the early hours of Saturday, 14 August 2021.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the murders and calls on the Congolese Government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Joel Mumbere Musavuli is a journalist and the director of Baronnie de Byakato, the Biakato Community radio station.
According to local reports from Ituri, the troubled north eastern province of the DRC,Musavuli was “stabbed in the ribs and neck” at around 1:30 am while his wife was seriously wounded with a machete and later died from her injuries. “Joel Musavuli had been threatened after fronting a programme on 26 June, which looked into the activities of the armed groups”.
IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said that freedom of expression and media freedom are at great risk in the DRC. “Once again a journalist has paid the high price for telling the truth. Within the space of just eight days, two journalists, Heritier Magayane
DRC: Journalist killed in North Kivu Province / IFJThe International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined UNESCO in condemning the brutal murder of a journal…
and Joel Musavuli, have been killed in the country in relation to their work. There is no doubt that the intention of the murderers was simply to silence Joel, while at the same time sending an intimidating message to the Congolese media. ”
The IFJ calls on the Government of Felix Tshisekedi to do everything possible to bring the killers of Musavuli and his wife to justice. “The Congolese government must do more to protect journalists, human rights activists and all citizens from the trigger happy militias”, the Federation said.
Source: International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
