Radio Okapi is aradio network that operates in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo. On an annual budget of USD$4.5 million, a staff of 200 provide news and information to the entire urban population of the DRC. Radio Okapi provides programming in French and in the four national languages of Congo:Lingala,Kituba,Swahili andTshiluba.
Radio Okapi was created by theUnited Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and theSwissNGO Fondation Hirondelle. The agreement between MONUC and the Congolese government foresaw the creation of a radio network to inform the Congolese population of the MONUC's efforts. MONUC and the Fondation Hirondelle submitted a plan in 2001 to theUnited Nations, and the radio network went live on 25 February 2002.[1] The station takes its name from the endangeredOkapi, the elusive mammal native to the rainforest of northern Congo.
In 2011The Economist said that Radio Okapi was "one of Africa’s most admirably independent radio services".[2]
Mary Myers, in the essay "Well-Informed Journalists Make Well-Informed Citizens: Coverage of Governance Issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo," said that the radio station "raised the bar for other indigenous radio and TV stations in the country."[3] Other area radio stations copied Radio Okapi's news gathering techniques, program concepts, and formats. Myers also said "Although Radio Okapi can be a thorn in the government's side at times, its stance of promoting peace and democracy and the strong role it plays in civic education have led to its recognition, even by the Minister of Information, as a national asset that the Democratic Republic of Congo could ill afford to lose."[3]
On 13 June 2007, the station’s editor in chief forBukavu, Serge Maheshe, was shot dead.[4]
Radio Okapi provides programming in French and in Lingala, Kituba, Swahili and Tshiluba, transmitting all day every day on:[5]
Media related toRadio Okapi at Wikimedia Commons
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