User:Crtew/Robert Chamwami Shalubuto

Robert Chamwami Shalubuto (ca. 1972  – DAY MONTH YEAR), a Congolese journalist for Congolese National Radio and Television, Goma, WHICH? province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, was known for the sports section and general recent news.


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Personal
Robert Chamwami Shalubuto was born and raised in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and made it his residence. He studied at the ISP Higher Pedagogical Institute and was in the 2011 graduating class. He left behind a wife and three children. He is buried at the Kanyamuhanga Cemetery in Goma.

Career
Shalubuto worked at the RTNC for 17 years. He began his career covering sports news and later covered general news. He was able to deliver the news in Swahili and English. Shalubuto was frequently reporting on the jails breaks that happened in the Goma Central Prison.

Death
Robert Chaumwami Shalabuto had escaped an murder attempt the previous year. Shalubuto received death threat phones calls before his murder. On December 26, 2014, the bandits waited for Shalabuto to leave work and take advantage of the darkness. He went to a bar with four other men before his murder. It was around 8:30 p.m. when the journalist made a stop at a food market right outside of the Goma Mental Health Center. There were two gunman. The first gunman burst into the doors and blocked the exit. The second gunman came in with a revolver and shot him two times in the chest. It was later determined only one shot was fatal. The two gunman fled the scene without being captured. A few people inside of the market were also injured by one of the gunman for resisting. One person was shot in the leg and another person was hit with the butt of a rifle. Shalabuto was dead on arrival at the hospital. The gunmen also took away his journalist bag and the two bandits have still not yet been taken into custody. They were not able to find the two gunman or identify them. This case went unsolved and the documents that were stolen were never retrieved.

Context
The North Kivu province, which is where Shalabuto worked, was a dangerous area for the media, according to other journalists. In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Congolese security forces and other armed forces are responsible for abuse against civilians. The Rwandan-backed M23 armed group has committed crimes like executions, rapes, and forced recruitment of children over a widespread area. Government authorities had seek to silence the threats, violence, and arrests against human rights activists, journalists, and opposition political party leaders. These activists would criticize government officials and participate in anti government demonstrations.

Impact
Reporters without borders also known as the RSF accepted the abrupt decline in respect for media freedom in the DR of Congo. The murder of Robert Chamwami Shalubuto alarmed many but did nothing to the government.

Reactions
After Shalubuto was murdered Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO, the United Nations agency mandated to defend freedom of expression and press, issued a statement raising awareness for the safety of journalists.

TEMPORARY URL HOLDER

 * kongotimes
 * newvision


 * lecongolais
 * 27avril


 * book (Reporting dangerously: Journalist killings, Intimidation and Security by Simon Cottle)


 * digitaljournal


 * un


 * ifex


 * cpj


 * rsf


 * apanews


 * ipi


 * hrw