NEW YORK (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo Deputy Prime Minister Vital Kamerhe on Wednesday said he supported Congolese journalist Stanis Bujakera, who has been detained in Kinshasa, but could not speak about the judicial process currently under way.
Kamerhe, who said he had been jailed in the past himself, said the head of state and authorities would speak about the rights of the journalist, who was detained on suspicion of spreading false information about the killing of a prominent opposition politician in an article published by Jeune Afrique.
“Stanis Bujakera is a professional journalist and he has my support. But I cannot say anything about the processes in justice in my country,” he told the Reuters NEXT conference in New York.
As well as working for Jeune Afrique, Bujakera contributes to Reuters. He has been in detention since Sept. 8 in connection with the article about the circumstances of the death of Cherubin Okende, a former transport minister whose body was found in Kinshasa on July 13.
His trial was adjourned last month until Oct. 20 following a request from Bujakera’s lawyers for time to prepare his defence.
(Reporting by Leela de Kretser; Writing by Andrea Shalal and Dan Burns; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
