POLITICAL FIGURE NGOY RUNS AFOUL OF MEDIA AUTHORITY

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001557 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM ELECTIONS CG SUBJECT: POLITICAL FIGURE NGOY RUNS AFOUL OF MEDIA AUTHORITY REF: KINSHASA 01270 ¶1. (U) Pastor Theodore Ngoy, a minor opposition figure arrested in 2005 for offending the president, has made headlines again by violating the Code of Good Conduct for Political Parties and the Media. During an October 3 political broadcast on Canal Congo Television (CCTV),which is owned by Vice President and presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba, Ngoy reportedly made statements "inciting hate and xenophobia." Specifically, he invoked President Kabila's "non-Congolese" ethnicity. Ngoy also campaigned for Bemba on the broadcast before the official opening of the presidential campaign which begins October 13 at midnight. The High Authority for Media (HAM) on October 8 issued an embargo on any media coverage for Ngoy for seven days. Any print or broadcast outlet that fails to abide by the embargo will face sanctions themselves. ¶2. (U) Reportedly a candidate for provincial office after his stymied presidential bid, Ngoy has also signed on as one of Bemba's campaign managers and a spokesmen for Bemba's alliance, the Union of the Nation. ¶3. (U) Kabila's campaign advisor, Theodore Mugalu, a former DRC ambassador to Tanzania, received a similar sanction from the HAM for his "injurious and defamatory comments," presumably about Vice President Bemba, on Radio Lisanga television the same day. DOUGHERTY NNNN