Report Helps Thwart Katanga Assembly Bullying

IWPR’s coverage of young political activists in Katanga who intimidate politicians during parliamentary sessions has been hailed as an example of how articles published in the international press can make a difference in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.

Many local journalists had been afraid to write about these young people, all supporters of the National Union of Federalist Democrats, UNAFEC, who beat drums and sang songs to venerate the speaker of the provincial parliament and the party’s head in Katanga, Gabriel Kyungu. Parliamentarians have also been beaten or threatened.

"You journalists have power; you can change many things."
Alidor Numbi, DRC lawmaker

When our IWPR correspondent set out to cover the subject, he was advised by a fellow journalist to drop his idea of writing about the issue.

“It will not change anything,” he was told. “They are used to beating up those who go against their ideas or opinions of their political party.”

However, the IWPR article (Congolese Lawmakers Face Intimidation) was widely republished and not only has the intimidation ceased but local politicians have attributed the change to media coverage of the threats.

On July 15, the first day of the provincial parliament following a three month summer recess, parliamentarians returned to work to find the gangs of young people were no longer present.

“Now, at last, work can be done peacefully,” said lawmaker, Alidor Numbi. I thank the press, particularly international media, who made a lot of noise about the problem. You journalists have power; you can change many things.”

Parliamentarians hope that the culture of intimidation that came with the drums and the singing - and which prevented them from working freely - has now gone for good.

In other news, a group of female Congolese journalists underwent a week-long training session in Goma aimed at teaching them the skills they need to contribute to IWPR’s Face à la Justice radio programme.

The June 21-26 training - conducted by IWPR radio producer Melanie Gouby and journalist Louise Williams – focused on how to produce radio reports on sexual violence, human rights and justice issues.

“It was a great training, we learned so much from the IWPR team. I think what was best is that they made us feel like we were part of Face à la Justice and really a team working together,” said Passy Mubalama, one of the participants.

“As women we can have a better approach to reporting on sexual violence than our male colleagues. They don’t understand and often have prejudices. But it is difficult for us as women to get our voice heard in Congolese media,” trainee Godelieve Uwimana said.

The training session was followed by a week of practical mentoring by Gouby, which concentrated on the production of the first Face à la Justice show.

Fifteen female journalists from eight radio stations across North and South Kivu were selected to take part in the session. The participants will contribute feature stories for Face à la Justice, which is to be broadcast (in French and Swahili) by three IWPR radio station partners - RAO fm, RTNC and RACOU - in North Kivu.

"It was a great training, we learned so much from the IWPR team. I think what was best is that they made us feel like we were part of Face à la Justice and really a team working together."
Passy Mubalama, trainee journalist

The network of radio partners is rapidly expanding, with three other stations expressing interest in broadcasting Face à la Justice.

The training event equipped journalists with key journalistic skills for reporting on human rights and justice issues. They were shown how to conduct radio interviews, using digital recording equipment, and edit broadcast material with digital software.

The session also benefited from the experience of Immaculée Birhaheka, a leading Congolese human rights activist and president of the organisation Promotion and Support of Women's Initiatives, PAIF.

Birhaheka gave the journalists an insight into her work and discussed the dos and don’ts of interviewing rape victims, and welcomed IWPR’s initiative because she said there is a lack of balanced reporting on sexual violence in eastern DRC.

She also applauded IWPR for training and employing female journalists, as most journalists in the region are men and many harbour prejudices about sexual violence and the status of women in general.

“All women are marginalised, even the educated ones. We must obtain equality of chances and opportunities,” she said.

Additionally, the training touched upon investigative journalism and new media in order to show the participants how they could explore new ways of reporting and broaden the impact of their work.