Event Summary
On 9 January 2026, Congolese influencer and activist Jonas Fred Makita was arrested in Pointe-Noire by members of the judicial police. He was taken into custody and then transferred the next day to Dolisie, the country’s third largest city, where he was brought before the chief prosecutor of the Dolisie High Court on Monday, January 12. This arrest follows a complaint filed for “contempt of court and defamation against an institution.” The activist has since been detained at the Dolisie prison.
His detention has sparked outrage among the local population, particularly among the activist’s supporters, who question the real motives behind his arrest. This has forced the judicial authorities, through the prosecutor of the High Court of Pointe-Noire, to attempt to emphasize that this is a purely judicial and non-political case.
This arrest is worrying given the activism and engagement of this social media influencer. Indeed, his videos, statements, and positions are often critical of the government’s actions, which he regularly questions by calling for responsible and transparent governance. He denounces cases of corruption and regularly calls on the executive branch to take action against the acts he denounces. His revelations help to highlight governance failures, acts of corruption, and embezzlement for which the authorities and other political figures are directly responsible. This arrest can therefore be attributed to a desire to silence an activist whose actions are considered a significant nuisance.
Furthermore, according to the information received, he was stripped naked upon arrival at the Dolisie central police station and was reportedly the victim of an attempted kidnapping at Dolisie prison on the night of January 24. This humiliation suggests a desire to dehumanize him, to undermine his dignity as a human being and his psyche in order to weaken him and settle scores, rather than to deliver fair justice and therefore strictly apply the law.