A famous journalist, Heritier Magayane, has been found dead with his throat slit in North Kivu province, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Colleagues have linked the murder of the father of two to his work at Radio Television Nationale Congolaise in Rutshuru territory.
A colleague said the 26-year-old’s killers also made away with his phone.
Magayane hosted programmes for young people, advising them to “make room for peace” in a deeply unstable region, he added.
The deceased reportedly received a phone call from someone who arranged to meet with him at the place in the village of Bunyangula where he was killed between Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday, Luc Nyengeke, Rutshuru’s military administrator said on Sunday.
Bunyangula is controlled by the Congolese army but multiple militias operate in the region.
Ituri and North Kivu, two provinces in eastern DRC where dozens of armed groups operate and civilians have suffered horrifying massacres, have been placed under government siege since May 2021 to try to end the insecurity there.
In both provinces, civilian power was transferred to a military governor and a deputy governor drawn from the police, while the duties of provincial governments were transferred to the military.
Last month, 10 people were murdered and several houses razed by militias in Rwangoma, North Kivu province. The attack was blamed on Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group which – according to United States’ intel – is affiliated with the Islamic State.
ADF are Ugandan extremist Muslim rebels who have been active in eastern Congo for more than 25 years.