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UN mission speaks out against murder of Congolese journalist

UN mission speaks out against murder of Congolese journalist

Bruno Koko Chirambiza
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today expressed its shock and dismay at the latest assassination of a journalist in the vast African nation’s volatile east.

According to media reports, Bruno Koko Chirambiza, a radio reporter, was killed last weekend in Bukavu, the capital of the restive South Kivu province.

The mission, known as MONUC, “strongly deplores and condemns this horrible act that affects the entire Congolese press in general and the journalism profession in particular,” according to a statement issued in Kinshasa.

It called on judicial officials to bring those behind the murder to justice, noting that this would “undoubted contribute to promoting the fight against impunity.”

MONUC also said that it stands ready to help Congolese authorities if requested.

Last November, Didace Namujimbo, a journalist with Radio Okapi, was shot and killed in Bukavu, while his colleague Serge Maheshe was murdered in 2007.

Radio Okapi is a partnership between MONUC and the Hirondelle Foundation, a Swiss non-governmental organization.