Police Holding Three Suspects in DRC Journalist’s Murder
Reporting by CCJP
(USA)
Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo are holding a former soldier and two civilians in connection withthe July 8 murder of freelance journalist Bapuwa Mwamba, according to the local press freedom group Journaliste en Danger and AgenceFrance-Presse.

Kinshasa regional police chief Gen. Patrick Sabiti told journalists Thursday that the three men were detained July 25 in the southwestern port
city of Matadi. AFP said the three had been charged with murder but no date had been set for a court appearance. They were named as Vungu
Mbembé, an army deserter, Mangenele Lowawi and Kunku Makwala Sekula.
Police said they had recovered a gun that they believed to be the murder weapon. They said the motive for the killing was robbery.
Mwamba bled to death after being shot by men who burst into his home in the capital, Kinshasa. The day before his death, he had published a
commentary in the daily Le Phare, criticizing Congolese authorities and the international community for what he deemed to be the failure of
“If these men are brought to trial, the hearing must be fair and open,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “It is vital that the truth be found in
the killing of our colleague Bapuwa Mwamba.”
Mwamba’s death followed the still unsolved murder of veteran political affairs writer Franck Kangundu, who was slain in November 2005.