Kinshasa, March 20, 2024 – Important news shakes the press world in Africa with the release of Stanis Bujakera Tshamala, journalist for Actualite.cd and correspondent for international media such as Jeune Afrique and Reuters. After spending 193 days behind bars in Makala central prison, he was released late in the night of March 19, 2024, following the payment of a fine of one million Congolese francs.
This release follows the verdict of the Kinshasa/Gombe High Court of March 18, 2024, sentencing the journalist to 6 months of imprisonment for charges of forgery and forgery. Although the Prosecutor’s Office appealed, this did not prevent his release, even if his personal effects confiscated during his arrest in September 2023 were not returned.
The Observatory for Press Freedom in Africa (OLPA) took note of this release while deploring the conviction considered fanciful of the journalist. These judicial pressures go against the right to inform and be informed, protected by Congolese legislation and international legal instruments relating to human rights. OLPA’s actions aim to defend and promote freedom of the press, essential for a democratic and informed society.
It is crucial that journalists can exercise their profession in complete freedom, without fear of unfair reprisals for their reporting work. The release of Stanis Bujakera Tshamala is a step in the right direction, but there is still work to be done to ensure a free and independent press in the Democratic Republic of Congo and around the world.
For more information on OLPA’s actions in favor of press freedom in Africa, you can visit their website and follow their news on social networks.
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