Misreported
The French blog Fdesouche published an article on February 26th claiming that Théo and his brother Mickaël Luhaka were the sons of Thomas Luhaka – the current minister for infrastructure of the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the article, this relationship explains the visit the French President, François Hollande, made to Théo Luhaka after his assault by four French police officers.
Théo, a 22-year-old youth worker, was the victim of a violent arrest on February 2nd in northern Paris. One officer has been charged with raping Theo, and the three others with assault.
According to Fdesouche, the story of Théo’s alleged family ties originated from the website sangoyacongo.com. Fdesouche also cites the websites Africawave, and Mediapart, where the claim appeared on February 9th 2017.
The news agency AFP contacted minister Thomas Luhaka in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC. Luhaka assured AFP reporters that Théo and Mickaël are not his sons, but are his nephews. “They are my nephews, my big brother’s sons, Prosper Luhaka who lives there [in France]”.
On the website of the radio station Africa n°1, the journalist Fatou Biramah also refers, in an article of February 27th, to Thomas Luhaka as the “uncle” of Théo and Mickaël.
