Radio Okapi, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s only national radio station, is Switzerland’s original and innovative contribution to civilian conflict management.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been ravaged by civil war since 1996, when an initial conflict toppled Mobutu Sese Seko's regime. A second conflict erupted in August 1998, splitting the country into two zones governed de facto by rival political and military factions. It was virtually impossible for these regions to communicate with one another and the constant bloodshed destroyed the remnants of the country's economy. In four years, the civil war killed over three million people and led to half a million refugees and over two million internally displaced persons.

In 1999, a United Nations mission (MONUC) was sent in to enforce a ceasefire. At the same time, the process of Intercongolese Dialogue gradually led to the political establishment of lasting peace: a global agreement to set up a transitional government comprised of all of the parties to the conflict was signed in Pretoria on 17 December 2002; successful parliamentary and presidential elections followed in 2006; and in early 2007, for the first time since 1965, a democratically elected government took office in Kinshasa.

The key role played by information
Within such a context, informing the Congolese populations was crucial. During the war years, the Congolese no longer had any national news, and – worse still –news reports were closely controlled and kept to a strict minimum. The few journalists who tried to speak about what was really happening in the country often ended up in jail. The Congolese people no longer had any idea what was happening in the other regions of the country. In some cases, they did not even know what was going on in their own region.

Under these conditions, there was considerable risk that Intercongolese Dialogue would be limited to just a few politicians. The split in the country was also perpetuated by the fact that the Congolese people had little or no access to information. In this respect, Radio Okapi revolutionized the way Congolese were able perceive their own reality, both in the DRC and abroad.

The project was designed as a partnership between the United Nations and the Lausanne-based Fondation Hirondelle. United Nations Radio is a national radio station that broadcasts general news to the public at large. It seeks to deliver truly reliable and independent information in a fairly free style. Like national radio stations covering vast territories, Radio Okapi is actually a network of radio stations rather than a single radio station. Nine stations are scattered across the country, broadcasting across political and military boundaries. Eight of these stations feed information to the Kinshasa headquarters, thus providing material for a single programme which is then rebroadcast over different frequencies in each of the studios in the other towns. Since 2005, Radio Okapi has also worked to set up a network of 25 community radio stations. These stations also provide Radio Okapi with local information and rebroadcast national programmes.

The project is technically complex: news, documentaries and special updates are transmitted via satellite just like the programmes themselves. Radio Okapi is fully computerized. Recordings, editing and broadcasts are all in digital format: in this respect, Radio Okapi probably has the largest and most sophisticated computerized radio system in all of Africa, with the exception of South Africa.

Programmes in five languages
Radio Okapi requires an extremely efficient organizational structure to manage and disseminate information in five different languages (four national languages plus French). After six years of operation, Radio Okapi is now a major success among listeners. Annual listener surveys show that it is the most listened to station. It also ranks as the top radio station in most towns: firstly, because it is the only station that provides national news and secondly, because it is the only station that can be picked up throughout most of the country. Radio Okapi’s success is also due to the fact that it has already broken several taboos by discussing topics that had previously been prohibited such as student demonstrations, child soldiers and reprisals. The radio station gives ordinary people a voice and a chance to say (sometimes in simple, touching words) how they have had enough of the war, the way the country is being run and the looting. Political debates are also aired. In this sense, Radio Okapi played a key role during the elections by giving all of the parties the chance to state their positions while nevertheless making sure that all information was verified before it was broadcast. This kept the situation under control and prevented mounting tensions from degenerating into renewed clashes. The radio station certainly helped to ensure the success of the electoral process. Even MONUC accepted to be called into question, particularly by having its leaders respond daily to listener questions.

Radio Okapi enjoys a great deal of credibility among the Congolese. The radio station’s commitment to “saying it like it is” is not without risks, however. Some of its journalists have paid for their commitment with their lives, as illustrated by the killing of Serge Maheshe in Bukavu in June 2007.

Since 2002, the SDC’s Humanitarian Aid Dept, the SDC’s Bilateral Development Dept., and the FDFA’s Political Affairs Division IV have contributed a total of roughly CHF 1 million each year in support of Radio Okapi’s activities. Their combined support is innovative in that it creates synergies between humanitarian aid and peace policies, between bilateral and multilateral cooperation as well as between the UN and NGOs.
Since 2006, the SDC has concentrated its efforts on devising and implementing a plan to maintain Radio Okapi after the withdrawal of MONUC. This plan became a priority in 2007 after it became clear that MONUC would gradually be pulling out of the country following the local elections at the end of 2008.

In the future, the SDC will primarily focus on keeping Radio Okapi in place so that a balanced Congolese media landscape can take shape. The radio station is also expected to strengthen the process of democratisation, good governance and consolidation of peace in the country.