(JED/IFEX) – Police officers acting on behalf of one Colonel Kanoki arrested Michel Mukebayi Nkoso, editor of the Kinshasa-based weekly “Kin News”, on 25 February 2003 at 6:00 p.m. (local time), at his newspaper’s Kinshasa/Gombe offices. Nkoso was taken to the Kin-Mazière Special Services detention centre. He was released at around 9:30 p.m. the same […]
(JED/IFEX) – Police officers acting on behalf of one Colonel Kanoki arrested Michel Mukebayi Nkoso, editor of the Kinshasa-based weekly “Kin News”, on 25 February 2003 at 6:00 p.m. (local time), at his newspaper’s Kinshasa/Gombe offices. Nkoso was taken to the Kin-Mazière Special Services detention centre. He was released at around 9:30 p.m. the same day and was ordered not to make a statement concerning his arrest.
While in police custody, Nkoso was questioned about a news item that appeared on the front page of his newspaper’s 22 February edition. The article, entitled “Matungulu [ed. note: the former finance and budget minister] and Joseph’s million dollars go to Sony”, reported that contrary to Pastor Sony Kafuta’s prior statements regarding one million US$ that he allegedly received from Brazzaville, he had in fact received the sum from President Joseph Kabila. The newspaper also reported that Kafuta had allegedly fathered President Kabila’s twin sister’s child.
The journalist’s interrogators sought to identify the sources of the information that appeared in the contentious news item.
