Joseph Kabila: DR Congo bans reporting on the ex-president
Responding to the announcement by the regulator, known as the the Supreme Council of Audiovisual and Communication (CSAC), an M23 spokesperson said the media outlets in parts of the country under its control would not abide by the ban.There has been no immediate response from Kabila, however, the secretary of his party, Ferdinand Kambere, rejected the ban, describing it as "arbitrary" on X. Kabila was last week seen in the eastern DR Congo city of Goma, which is under M23 control.He has been highly critical of the government after the senate voted to lift his immunity over his alleged support of the M23 group.DR Congo's neighbour, Rwanda has been accused of backing the rebel group, but Kigali denies this. Kabila, who has not yet been charged with any crime, launched a scathing attack on the Congolese government last month, describing it as a "dictatorship".A government spokesperson at the time rejected Kabila's criticism, saying he had "nothing to offer".Reacting to the announcement by the CSAC, activist and president of the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights, Jean-Claude Katende, said the ban constituted an "abuse of power", according to local media. Since returning to DR Congo after two years of self-imposed exile, Kabila's party has been posting his activities online, which include visiting civil society groups and local religious representatives in Goma. Additional reporting from BBC Monitoring.
More BBC stories about DR Congo:
What's the fighting in DR Congo all about?The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR CongoIs Trump mulling a minerals deal with conflict-hit DR Congo?
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
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