The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) media watchdog has banned politics from the airwaves of state television for 48 hours after party leaders traded insults on screen.
The High Media Authority acted after Yerodia Abdoulaye Ndombasi, a leader of President Joseph Kabila’s party and one of the four vice-presidents in the transitional government, gave vent live against rivals.
The authority, whose task is to ensure that support for peace and democracy prevails in the media, called Ndombasi’s remarks on Monday ”dishonourable and insulting”.
It also condemned the reaction, in the form of ”public insults and threats”, a few hours later of a spokesperson for veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi on two private television stations.
The media watchdog called on broadcasters to be prudent pending a ruling by the Supreme Court on a directive relating to comments by politicians in the media. — Sapa-AFP