Five DR Congo reporters ‘abducted’ by police: editor

KINSHASA: Five journalists at a newspaper in the Democratic Republic of Congo were "abducted" on Friday, their managing editor said, after the publication of articles on the misappropriation of rations for police cadets.

The detentions come after a series of prosecutions of journalists in the troubled nation, which is just two months away from tense elections to replace President Joseph Kabila. "The police proceeded early this morning to abduct five journalists from AfricaNews. Octave Mukendi, Bruce Landu, Roddy Bosakwa, Dan Luyila and Laurent Omba were taken to an unknown destination," AfricaNews managing editor Achille Kadima said in a statement.

The journalists had worked at the office of the tri-weekly newspaper overnight to finish the latest edition and were arrested on the premises. The officers who took them did not show any documents, Kadima told AFP, adding that he had gone into hiding.

Earlier, he had written a letter to the national police chief complaining that police had conducted a "roundup" of copies of AfricaNews from news stands. On the front page of the current issue, the paper carried a story on an inquiry into misappropriation of police cadet rations, adding the head of the country´s police academies had been summoned.