Etienne Makula was arrested after he played a song deemed insulting to Angolan President José Eduardo Dos Santos.
(JED/IFEX) – Kinshasa, 15 June 2010 – A station manager who was held for 32 days in Matadi’s central prison, in Bas Congo province, southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, was released on 12 June 2010, two days after being acquitted by a Matadi court on charges of “threatening state security”, reports JED.
Etienne Makula, better known as “Mike Elima”, station manager at Community Radio Moanda (RCM) in Moanda, (approx. 120 km from Matadi), was arrested on 3 May and held for two days by security forces in Moanda before being transferred on 5 May to Matadi’s central prison, popularly known as “Camp Molayi”.
Maluka’s arrest came after he played the song “Cabinda 25”, by the Angolan group Kizomba, on the air. The Angolan consul in Moanda appealed to local authorities, complaining that the Portuguese-language song was insulting to Angolan President José Eduardo Dos Santos.
