Odon Mwamba was arrested on 23 October and has been detained on charges of criminal defamation against Abbot Twité, rector of the Lubumbashi grand seminary.
(JED/IFEX) – 25 October 2011 – Journaliste en danger (JED) strongly condemns the detention of Odon Mwamba, a journalist for “La Grogne”, a private newspaper distributed in Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga, a province in south-east DRC.
Mwamba was arrested on 23 October 2011 by the national Congolese police, and has been detained ever since. He was arrested on charges of criminal defamation against the abbot Twité, rector of the grand seminary in Lubumbashi.
According to information obtained by JED, Mwama was arrested for attempting to verify information regarding an alleged affair between the abbot Twité and a young woman from Lubumbashi.
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Without taking a position on the matter in question, JED calls on the abbot to request that the journalist be released immediately and to await the court’s ruling on the matter.
Please note that this is an abridged translation.