Kinshasa, August 25, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on rebel authorities controlling part of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to lift the
restrictions
that prohibit media outlets in South Kivu province from broadcasting or publishing political content. Local regulatory authorities should also reverse their
decision
to suspend a Bukavu FM political program and its host, Claude Kashonga.
On August 19, Patrick Busu Bwa Ngwi Nshombo, the governor
appointed
for South Kivu by the M23 and Congo River Alliance (AFC) rebels, summoned media executives operating in the city of Bukavu to his office and warned of harsh sanctions if they failed to comply with a series of new conditions, according to a
media report
and four local journalists who spoke to the CPJ after attending the meeting. The conditions included indefinite bans on broadcasting political debates and on covering news about the DRC government, requirements to cover AFC/M23 activities and air their information for free, and a mandate to focus broadcasts on peace, the environment, education, health, and development.
“The rebel authorities’ censorship of political and conflict coverage in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo illustrate an intensifying and persistent crackdown on press freedom, in a region where journalists already work under pressure from death threats and arrests,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo. “The M23/AFC coalition must rescind its unjust decisions and restore the local population’s access to diverse reporting and commentary on current affairs.”
“The M23 governor began by lamenting what he described as a lack of media coverage regarding M23’s activities,” a local journalist who attended the meeting told CPJ under condition of anonymity, for fear of reprisal, adding that Busu warned local media outlets against criticizing the rebels or relaying news from the DRC government.
“He questioned whether our media outl
… [more]
