By Daniel Itai.
(News of The South) – Radio Lwemba a community radio station in Lwebma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has officially closed its airwaves.
Over the past few years radio Lwebma has been playing a significant role in raising awarenesses about the Ebola epidemic which has been rife in the area.
The closure of the radio station is a result of threats that members of the community radio station have been getting since the death of its broadcaster Papy Mahamba Mumbere earlier on this month.
Radio Lwemba’s station manager, Joel Musavuli said the station had been targeted by armed groups hostile to the campaign to roll back the Ebola epidemic.
“Each of us have received threats since last month. We have now decided to stop broadcasting, I myself escaped two kidnapping attempts.
We are victims of our commitment to the awareness campaign about the spread of Ebola virus diseases,” remarked Musavuli.
Several health workers have been killed and media that have supported the campaign have received threats.
The fight against the outbreak has been hampered by local fears and superstititions, exploited by militia groups that are rampant in the remote region.
Comments
About Author
