Kinshasa, August 25, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on rebel authorities controlling part of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to lift the restrictions that prohibit media outlets in South Kivu province from broadcasting or publishing political content. Local regulatory authorities should also reverse their decision to suspend a Bukavu FM political program and its host, Claude Kashonga.
On August 19, Patrick Busu Bwa Ngwi Nshombo, the governor appointed for South Kivu by the M23 and Congo River Alliance (AFC) rebels, summoned media executives operating in the city of Bukavu to his office and warned of harsh sanctions if they failed to comply with a series of new conditions, according to a media report and four local journalists who spoke to the CPJ after attending the meeting. The conditions included indefinite bans on broadcasting political debates and on covering news about the DRC government, requirements to cover AFC/M23 activities and air their information for free, and a mandate to focus broadcasts on peace, the environment, education, health, and development.
“The rebel authorities’ censorship of political and conflict coverage in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo illustrate an intensifying and persistent crackdown on press freedom, in a region where journalists already work under pressure from death threats and arrests,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo. “The M23/AFC coalition must rescind its unjust decisions and restore the local population’s access to diverse reporting and commentary on current affairs.”
“The M23 governor began by lamenting what he described as a lack of media coverage regarding M23’s activities,” a local journalist who attended the meeting told CPJ under condition of anonymity, for fear of reprisal, adding that Busu warned local media outlets against criticizing the rebels or relaying news from the DRC government.
“He questioned whether our media outlets were serving Kinshasa, reminding us that, as governor, he could decide to shut them down at any moment without facing opposition,” the journalist said. “Busu Bwa Ngwi did not mince his words: He would not tolerate hearing criticism or insults directed at his movement.”
At the meeting, Busu also appointed Emmanuel Bafa Mbilizi as coordinator of the Superior Council for Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC), the local media regulatory body, according to the journalists who spoke with CPJ.
On August 22, Bafa and Darius Kitoka, local president of the National Press Union of the Congo (UNPC), which also serves as a self-regulatory body for its members, suspended Bukavu FM’s political program, “Samedi Miracle,” for 30 days and Kashonga for 45 days, according to a decision reviewed by the CPJ. During the August 19 meeting, Kashonga had faced harsh criticism for condemning the illegal occupation of private homes by M23/AFC rebels and the eviction of state officials to house their own senior members.
Kashonga told CPJ that his guest on the August 15 broadcast had criticized the M23 rebel administration and that he had done his best to steer the conversation in a different direction. On August 17, he was summoned by Busu, who was outraged by the broadcast and, on August 22, he received a suspension notice from the UNPC and the CSAC without having been given a chance to explain himself.
When CPJ contacted Kitoka of the UNPC for comment on Kashonga’s suspension, he said, “I am sanctioning him to help him,” but declined to comment further. CPJ was unable to contact Bafa, and CPJ’s calls and messages to Busu went unanswered.
In April 2024, the national CSAC under the DRC government banned all Congolese media outlets from broadcasting news regarding the M23 rebels, who are backed by the Rwandan army.
Facts Only
* The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for lifting restrictions prohibiting broadcasting or publishing political content in South Kivu province.
* Local regulatory authorities are requested to reverse the suspension of a Bukavu FM political program and its host, Claude Kashonga.
* Patrick Busu Bwa Ngwi Nshombo, M23 and Congo River Alliance (AFC) appointed governor for South Kivu, summoned media executives in Bukavu on August 19.
* Conditions imposed by Busu included indefinite bans on political debates and reporting on the DRC government.
* Media was required to cover AFC/M23 activities and air this information for free.
* Broadcasts were mandated to focus on peace, the environment, education, health, and development.
* Bukavu FM's political program "Samedi Miracle" was suspended for 30 days and Claude Kashonga for 45 days by Bafa and Darius Kitoka of the UNPC and CSAC on August 22.
* Claude Kashonga faced criticism for condemning M23/AFC rebel actions prior to his suspension.
* The national CSAC under the DRC government banned all Congolese media outlets from broadcasting news regarding the M23 in April 2024.
Executive Summary
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the lifting of restrictions preventing media outlets in South Kivu province from broadcasting or publishing political content. The group also requests that local regulatory authorities reverse their decision to suspend a Bukavu FM political program and its host, Claude Kashonga. A meeting occurred on August 19, where Patrick Busu Bwa Ngwi Nshombo, the governor appointed by M23 and Congo River Alliance (AFC) rebels, summoned media executives in Bukavu and imposed new conditions. These conditions included indefinite bans on political debates and reporting on the DRC government, requirements to cover AFC/M23 activities freely, and a mandate to focus broadcasts on peace, environment, education, health, and development.
Further context involves the suspension of Bukavu FM’s political program, "Samedi Miracle," for 30 days and Claude Kashonga for 45 days by the National Press Union of the Congo (UNPC) and the Superior Council for Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC) on August 22. Kashonga had faced criticism for condemning the M23/AFC rebels' actions, leading to his summoning by Busu and subsequent suspensions from UNPC and CSAC without explanation. A previous ban on Congolese media outlets reporting on the M23 in April 2024 was imposed by the national CSAC under the DRC government.
Full Take
The dynamic presented illustrates a tension between localized governance, armed group control, and the established principles of press freedom. The repeated imposition of censorship, shifting from national regulatory bodies to rebel-appointed governors and local media unions, reveals an attempt to create layered mechanisms of control over information flow. The transition of power dynamics—where a rebel governor dictates terms to local journalists, who are then sanctioned by local media bodies—demonstrates how conflict can be weaponized to enforce narrative dominance. The repeated framing of the situation through mandates focusing on "peace" and development, while simultaneously censoring coverage of the conflict itself, signals a strategic attempt to sanitize public discourse by redirecting focus away from political accountability toward manufactured stability.
The pattern suggests that freedom of expression is not merely an abstract right but a contingent condition dependent upon the political authority in place. When established structures for media regulation are bypassed or co-opted by armed actors, the resulting limitations on reporting become institutionalized rather than temporary measures. The silence from bodies like the UNPC regarding the host's suspension, despite their stated role as self-regulators, suggests a potential systemic failure where institutional mechanisms are either paralyzed or complicit in the imposed narrative. This prompts inquiry into whether localized power structures can truly resist externally enforced informational constraints when those constraints are backed by armed authority and national legal precedents.
What historical patterns exist regarding how regional conflicts transition from kinetic warfare to information control? How do the specific demands placed on journalists (e.g., focusing solely on development) function as a mechanism of cognitive sovereignty erosion rather than empowerment? If local authorities actively use media access to police dissent, what alternatives remain for sustaining critical journalism within environments defined by armed conflict?