A journalist for a private radio station in Congo was stabbed to death in the eastern town of Bukavu, his employer, Radio Star, said Sunday. Bruno Koko Chirambiza, 24, died at a Bukavu hospital after receiving “two stabs with a knife when he was attacked by an unidentified group as he returned home from a wedding in the company of a friend,” opposition member of parliament Pierre Pay Pay told Agence France Presse.
Pay Pay, who owns Radio Star, said the killing was “premeditated, an assassination. “They were followed from the party which took place five kilometers from his home near where he was killed. He was the target. Nothing was stolen.” Congolese Communication and Media Minister Lambert Mende told AFP he was “devastated” after being told of the murder but said investigators were still looking for a motive.
“We have been aware of FDLR [Rwandan Hutu rebels] elements in the town for a couple of weeks…We have the impression that these people do not want the situation to stabilize and attack opinion leaders, and notably journalists, to impress the rest of the community,” he said.
Government troops have been fighting the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and other armed groups in eastern Congo for months.
“We are looking into whether [the journalist] has been presenting programs on ongoing army operations,” said Pay Pay.
The journalist had been working for Radio Star for two years.
