On 25 February, Radio Okapi celebrated seven years of broadcasts to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Its launch coincided with the launch of the Inter Congolese Talks in Sun City, South Africa, which culminated in the transition to peace. Radio Okapi broadcasts to a large part of DR Congo’s territory, with impartial, reliable, objective and professional information to accompany the peace process.Radio Okapi is the fruit of a great ambition shared by its two founders: the United Nations and Fondation Hirondelle, which is a Swiss Non Governmental Organisation specialising in media projects in countries devastated by armed conflicts.
Along with its head studio in Kinshasa, Radio Okapi has nine regional stations and about twenty relay stations. It employs more than 200 staff, including journalists, presenters and technicians who work seven days a week to broadcast reliable and credible information in French, as well as the four national languages of Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba and Kikongo.
Chantal Kanyimbo, President of the DRC National Press Union, said that “Radio Okapi shows that Congolese journalists are professionals; that they have the capacity to do their job correctly when the conditions are right, in terms of salaries and equipment.”
Médard Mbuyal, a journalist with the Congolese state radio said that “we must say without false modesty that Radio Okapi has helped improve the media environment in the DRC, which used to be generally steeped in ideology with a focus on political debates. Radio Okapi has helped to foster professionalism, and reinforce neutrality regarding the treatment of information.”
Richard Kana, a member of civil society in Eastern Kasai province, noted that Radio Okapi is very popular among the population which appreciates its analysis and neutral treatment of information. “We appreciate and praise the courage of all these journalists who do their best and sometimes sacrifice their lives to inform the population.”
(Source: UN Mission in DR Congo/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)
