Modeste Mutinga Mutuishayi, commonly known as Modeste Mutinga, is a journalist and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is the publisher of '' Le Potentiel'', which

The Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...

described as "the only independent daily newspaper in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo". According to Mutinga, the paper has "an agenda" of promoting economic development and democracy. Mutinga has been threatened, arrested, and jailed multiple times on charges related to his reporting. In 1992, during the

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...

era, the ''Le Potentiel'' offices were bombed. In 1998, he was arrested by authorities following an article covering the house arrest of opposition leader Étienne Tshisekedi. In January 2000, he was assaulted in New York City by the advisors of DRC President Laurent-Désiré Kabila while covering a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. In 2000, he was awarded the International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists. The award citation described him as "a relentless advocate for human rights" and "an inspiration to journalists throughout Africa who continue to fight against tremendous odds for freedom of expression and better governance".

Political career

From 2003 to 2006, Mutinga served as High Authority of the Media in the Transitional Government that followed the

Pretoria Accord The Pretoria Accord was a July 2002 agreement made between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in an attempt to bring about an end to the Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great Wa ...

ending the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...

. He now serves as a

in the nation's parliament as a member of the Alliance of the Presidential Majority, the party backing current president Joseph Kabila. In March 2010, he introduced legislation to attempt to regulate the "confusion" followed by the end of the

Voice of Zaire The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production in ...

's media monopoly. Mutinga is also a member of the political bureau for Together for Change, the opposition political coalition formed by former Katanga governor Moïse Katumbi to support his presidential bid in the upcoming 2018 presidential election.https://ensemble-mk.com/organisation

References

Democratic Republic of the Congo journalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Government ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo {{DRCongo-politician-stub