Moussa Kaka, a Nigerien journalist, director of the media group Radio Télévision Saraounia (RTS) and former correspondent for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has been missing since 31 August. He left his office at the end of the day to return home but never arrived. RSF calls on the authorities to launch an investigation to locate him as quickly as possible and hold anyone responsible for his disappearance to account.
Where is Moussa Kaka? The Nigerien journalist and director-general of Radio Télévision Saraounia (RTS) has been missing for nearly 48 hours. According to RSF information gathered, Moussa Kaka left his office in Niamey, the country’s capital, at around 7 p.m. on 31 August to return home. He never arrived.
Since then, neither his colleagues nor his family have been able to reach him. A journalist working for his newsroom, who spoke to RSF on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Moussa Kaka has not reported to work since Monday evening. The journalist’s vehicle is also reportedly missing, according to local media reports. Moussa Kaka founded Saraounia radio in 1999, which was granted a television frequency in 2011. He has also worked as a correspondent for the French broadcaster Radio France Internationale (RFI),
Moussa Kaka’s disappearance comes amid an especially tense situation in Niger, just days after the failed coup attempt in Niamey on 29 August, which reportedly targeted the presidential palace and military sites.
“The disappearance of prominent journalist Moussa Kaka is particularly concerning as Niger enters another period of heightened political and security tensions following the attempted coup of 29 August. RSF is closely monitoring the situation and calls on the Nigerien authorities to immediately open an investigation to locate him and establish the circumstances surrounding his disappearance without delay.
In October 2025, Moussa Kaka was arrested along with two other journalists as the authorities attempted to find who shared an invitation to a press conference organised by the Patriotic Safeguard Council Solidarity Fund (FSSP) — an organisation created by the military regime to mobilise resources to support its efforts — on social media. The three journalists were prosecuted for “complicity in disseminating a document liable to disturb public order” under Niger’s cybercrime law.
Moussa Kaka, along with Abdoul Aziz Idé, an editorial secretary at Radio Télévision Saraounia, and Souleymane Brah, a journalist with the online media outlet La Voix du peuple, were placed in police custody before being released on bail. Three other journalists, including Ibro Chaibou, also of Radio Télévision Saraounia, were remanded in custody in November 2025 on the same grounds and under the same charge. Ibro Chaibou remained in detention for nearly ten months before being released on 28 August. Moussa Kaka was present when Ibro Chaibou was released from prison and appeared alongside him in a photograph published by local media that same day. The two other journalists remanded in custody — Youssouf Sériba, publication director of the online media outlet Les Échos du Niger, and Oumarou Kané, founder of the newspaper Le Hérisson — were released in July.
