Congo Kinshasa ministers arrested

President Kabila has issued numerous warnings to Cabinet ministers against corruption

Two senior government ministers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been detained by officers of President Laurent Kabila's security service.

The Information Minister, Raphael Ghenda, and Minister of Public Enterprises, Kambale Mututulo, were arrested in the capital Kinshasa.

Both were close aides to President Kabila during the campaign last year to overthrow the Mobutu regime in the former Zaire.

Corruption warning

Although there has been no official reason given for their arrest, a BBC correspondent in Kinshasa says the president has issued numerous warnings to Cabinet ministers against corruption and abuse of office for personal gain.

Earlier, reports suggested Mr Ghenda was being held in connection with a recent television broadcast about atrocities committed during African civil wars.

It was shown the day before a scheduled regional summit in Kinshasa, which was then called off at short notice.

The documentary is reported to have infuriated President Kabila, who has been accused by the UN of blocking investigations of massacres in the east of the country.

President's purge

The two cabinet ministers are the latest in a series of the president's administration to be questioned by security services, most of them for corruption related offences.

The arrests come in the midst of a crackdown against the media. On Friday, the national television chief and four of his colleagues were detained.

A major cabinet reshuffle is also expected amid a general climate of insecurity in the ruling ranks.