by Nurat Uthman
Lawyers for detained journalist Stanis Bujakera say they have filed a new demand for his release after the Democratic Republic of Congo’s president said the reporter was a “victim” of “sick” justice.
A correspondent working for Jeune Afrique magazine and Reuters news agency, Bujakera has been held since September 8 over an article questioning the role of military intelligence in the murder of an opposition figure.
At a press conference Thursday night, President Felix Tshisekedi criticized what he called “procrastination” over the case and said he had decided to “stick my nose in.
He added that he would take “the decision that needs to be taken.”
After filing the release demand at Kinshasa’s Makala prison, lawyer Jean-Marie Kabengela said Friday, “Today there has been a development.”
The president had banged his fist on the table “so that our client would be granted a provisional release,” he said.
Multiple appeals for Bujakera to be set free have until now all failed.
His trial has been adjourned until March 8 with Bujakera, facing accusations of “fabricating and distributing” a note from civilian intelligence incriminating military intelligence in the murder of Cherubin Okende, found riddled with bullets in his car last July 13.
For several weeks the trial court has been bogged down with experts attempting to authenticate documents and signatures.
