Shalubuto was with friends at the North Kivu province bar around 9:00 p.m. when he was killed according to some media reports while news24 reports that he had been at a local grocery store. According to media reports he was shot in the chest and died on route to hospital.
Shalubuto had worked for RTNC for 17 years. He begun his career covering sports but had recently reported on general news including the jail break from Goma Central Prison. The reporter delivered the news in both Swahili and English. The journalist had had death threats via phone calls in the past.
“I condemn the killing of Robert Chamwami Shalubuto which raises concerns about the safety of journalists,” Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said in a statement issued in Paris.
The North Kivu province is dangerous for the media according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Violations of press freedom have included broadcasters being censored from reports critical of the authorities. In 2013 soldiers attacked Radio Tujenge taking equipment and two staff members were taken away from the station. Head of programs, Senghor Fundi Kamulete, and technician Shabani Bin Shabani were released a few hours later after being beaten with rifle butts. Station director Gekalom Kalonda Mukelenge’s home was also raided and family members were assaulted.
In February 2014 reporter Germain Kennedy was killed in the province by the Allied Democratic Forces while riding in a Congolese military vehicle. In October reporter Philemon Gira lost his leg after he was shot.
“Journalists have long been targeted in North Kivu with impunity,” said CPJ East Africa Representative Tom Rhodes. “Now is the time to put a stop to the cycle of violence by conducting a credible investigation into this murder and holding the perpetrators to account.”
The two gunmen who killed Robert Chamwami Shalubuto have yet to be identified. An investigation is ongoing.
