Rutembesa Innocent: The Congolese Journalist From Tongo, North Kivu Seeking a New Life in Kakuma
KAKUMA, Kenya – In the heart of Kakuma Refugee Camp, Turkana West, lives a journalist whose story mirrors the complex history of the Great Lakes Region. His name is Rutembesa Innocent.
Born in 1990 in Tongo, Kabizu Village, Rutshuru Territory, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rutembesa comes from a cross-border family. His father, Higiro Evaliste, is Congolese, while his mother, Nzemerwa Elivayida, is Rwandan — a heritage that defines many families in the DRC-Rwanda borderlands.
A Career Built on Microphone and Truth
Rutembesa Innocent is not a new name in regional media. Over the last decade, he has worked with:
– East African Report – as a founding contributor
– Africa News & Africa News24
– VOA – Radio Agasaro Kaburaga
– Bwiza, Izuba TV, and EAR TV
Colleagues describe him as a field journalist who covered refugee affairs, cross-border security, and humanitarian crises — stories often ignored by mainstream media. Some reports also indicate he served as an Information Officer.
Life in Kakuma: Seeking Legal Protection
Today, Rutembesa’s life has taken a different turn. Speaking to HICGI News Agency on July 2, 2026, he said he is an undocumented refugee seeking official refugee status in Kenya.
According to him, Kenyan authorities have retained his mobile phone for more than six months — a situation he says has cut him off from family and heightened his safety concerns.
“I am an undocumented refugee,” Rutembesa told HICGI. He added that he was previously arrested in Kakuma before being released.
HICGI News Agency noted it had not independently verified all his claims at the time of publication, and that Kenyan authorities had not commented.
A Pioneer of East African Report
For readers of this website, Rutembesa Innocent is part of our history. He was among the early journalists who contributed to the foundation of East African Report — a platform that today is ranked among the fastest-indexed news sites in Africa, with Google News indexing in 3 minutes, equal to Reuters and BBC.
What Next for Rutembesa?
As he waits in Kakuma, Rutembesa says his only wish is legal protection and a chance to return to journalism — to continue telling stories of the voiceless in Congo, Rwanda, and Kenya.
His story is a reminder that behind every refugee number is a journalist, a father, a son — with a story to tell.
