Niger: Moussa Kaka is being held by the state, confirms the Minister of Justice after 36 days of silence

Niger's Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Alio Daouda, confirmed to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, that journalist Moussa Kaka is alive and being held by the authorities. This is the first time the Nigerien state has spoken directly about the fate of the director of Radio Télévision Saraounia, who had been missing since August 31, thirty-six days earlier.

According to RSF, the minister stated that the journalist had "committed an offense" and would have to "answer before the courts." He had previously mentioned his detention on September 25 in Geneva, during Niger's Universal Periodic Review, in response to a question from RADDHO, the West African human rights organization.

An interrupted journey, a vehicle nowhere to be found

Moussa Kaka left his office in the Kalley Est district of Niamey on August 31, 2026. He never arrived at his home in Lossogoungou, and his vehicle has not been found, RSF reports. His disappearance occurred two days after a mutiny was reported at several military installations in the capital.

For the NGO, the minister's statement "lifts the veil" that had persisted, in the words of Sadibou Marong, director of its Sub-Saharan Africa bureau. However, RSF believes that the classification of enforced disappearance remains valid under Article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, a text that Niger has ratified: the place of detention has not been disclosed, the alleged facts remain vague, and the journalist has access to neither his family nor a lawyer. The NGO is calling for his immediate release.

Three international referrals in three weeks

On September 16, RSF referred the case to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo, and then on September 28 to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. On October 2, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances asked Niger to clarify the journalist's fate and whereabouts without delay, according to the organization.

Moussa Kaka is no stranger: with forty years in the profession and as a former correspondent for RFI and RSF in Niger, he is among the most listened-to voices in the Sahelian media landscape. Niger ranks 120th out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index established by RSF, with a score of 46.02.

No offense has been established by a court at this stage, and the presumption of innocence applies here as elsewhere. The fact remains that defending the rights of Africans also means demanding that their states respect the commitments they have signed themselves. No hearing date has been announced.