Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2003 - Democratic Republic of Congo

Continued harassment against the Voice of the Voiceless Kinshasa³⁵

Mr. Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, president of the Voice of the Voiceless (la Voix des Sans Voix – VSV) went into hiding at the end of 2002 after receiving several oral threats from senior members of the Military Order Court (Cour d'Ordre Militaire – COM). Fearing for the life and safety of its president, VSV has had to close its office.

VSV was finally able to resume its activities in February 2003, and Mr. Chebeya Bahizire returned home in April.

Two human rights defenders released – Kinshasa³⁶

Mr. N'sii Luanda Shandwe and Mr. Willy Wenga Ilombe were released on 26th January 2003 on a verbal order of the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo after respectively 9 and 11 months in detention at the Kinshasa Penitentiary and Re-education Centre (Centre pénitentiaire et de rééducation de Kinshasha – CPRK).

Mr. N'sii Luanda Shandwe, chairman of the Human Rights Observers' Committee (Comité des observateurs des droits de l'Homme – CODHO) and Mr. Willy Wenga Ilombe, lawyer and member of the African Center for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (Centre africain pour la paix, la démocratie et les droits de l'Homme – CAPD), had been imprisoned by the COM without charges and without a court hearing. They were accused of being in contact with people suspected of jeopardising national security, in particular in relation to the trial of the alleged murderers of former President Mr. Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Mr. Shandwe did not receive proper medical treatment during his incarceration and protested by going on hunger strike in the middle of January 2003.

Neither Mr. Shandwe nor Mr. Ilombe ever received a written order for their release and therefore could be detained again at any moment.

Release of Mr. Emile Omba – Lubumbashi³⁷

Mr. Emile Omba had been arrested on 23rd November 2002, after the 18th November publication of a letter he wrote denouncing the "illegal transport of uranium-rich copper from deposits in Lwishuishi and Tumbwe by the company Malta Forrest". He had been transferred to Lubumbashi on 27th November, officially accused of "propagating false information" by the court of first instance on 29th November and condemned to serve a prison sentence.

He was released in February 2003.

Continued harassment of ASADHO/Katanga – Lubumbashi³⁸

On 15th April 2003, 8 people were arrested by order of Colonel Mr. Charles Alamba Mungako,COM prosecutor. They were leaving a COM hearing and had a press release with them on the "unconstitutionality of the COM". The document had been signed that same day by the Katanga branch of the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights (Association africaine de défense des droits de l'Homme – ASADHO/Katanga), as well as by the Centre for Human and Humanitarian Rights (Centre des droits de l'Homme et du droit humanitaire – CDH) and the Commission for Extension of Human Rights and Development (Commission de Vulgarisation des Droits de l'Homme et du Développement – CVDHO).

On 16th April 2003, Mr. Prince Kumwamba Nsapu, ASADHO-Katanga administrative and financial vice director, and Mr. Grégoire Mulamba Tshisakamba, CDH General Secretary, went to the COM to get information on the abovementioned arrests. At their arrival they were arrested and taken to Kassapa prison on the grounds of "instigating rebellion". Together with the eight other people arrested on 15th April, they were to be judged by the COM on 17th April in application of a procedure that violates law n° 23/2003 of 18th novembre 2002.³⁹

Thanks to pressure of the international community Mr. Kumwamba Nsapu and Mr. Mulamba Tshisakamba were provisionally released on 19th April and then acquitted on 22nd April at a COM hearing. The court deemed that the accusations against these two people were part of their rights to opinions and recommendations guaranteed by the Constitution; the court also referred to the decrees taken by the Head of State on 18th March 2003 that had entered into force on 25th March 2003.

Nine human rights defenders arrested – Lubumbashi⁴⁰

On 8th September 2003, a group of human rights NGOs, including ASADHO-Katanga and Christian associations such as the Evangelist Group for Non-Violence (Groupe évangélique pour la non-violence – GANVE), as well as the Congolese Teachers' Association (Association des enseignants du Congo – AECO), held a peaceful demonstration in front of different high schools throughout the country to protest against the introduction of a special enrolment fee that parents had to pay.

During the demonstration, the mayor of Lubumbashi, Mr. Kaseba Makunko, ordered the arrest of the following members of the group: Mr. Mbuya and Mr. Bakatunyingela of ASADHO-Katanga, Mr. Ntumba, Mr. Lumbala, Mr. Kasongo, Mr. Kashala, Mr. Manyonga and Mr. Tshibasu of GANVE, and Mr. Kapembe of AECO. The police beat and arrested them. They were released two days later.

Members of the Friends of Nelson Mandela Association arrested – Buta⁴¹

Colonel Mr. Mongenzo, chief commander of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo – MLC), ordered the arrest of Mr. Aliana, a member of the Friends of Nelson Mandela Association in Buta on 8th January 2003. Col. Mongenzo had intercepted a report by Mr. Aliana on human rights violations in Buta. This report was to be sent to the United Nations Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).

After being accused of spreading false information, Mr. Aliana was kept in prison and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment. He was released on February 2003 the MONUC intervened.

Continued harassment against the League of Electors Kinshasa⁴²

Mr. Paul Nsapu subjected to threats and pressure

Between 9th and 11th January 2003, the president of the League of Electors (Ligue des Electeurs – LE), Mr. Paul Nsapu, received several anonymous phone calls ordering him to refrain from further public statements on "political problems" in DRC, and on the trial of the alleged murderers of Mr. Laurent-Désiré Kabila.

His friends and relatives were closely watched throughout the year. Since October 2003, the authorities have made several heavy-handed attempts to convince them to speak ill of the LE and its president to the local population and partners.

Harassment against Mr. Richard Kazadi

Mr. Richard Kazadi, a lawyer, legal adviser to the LE and member of the LE executive board, was tied up in his home on 17th August 2003 by a group of armed men in uniform who fled when Mr. Kazadi activated his alarm system. Furthermore, he has received anonymous threats by phone regularly.

In 2001, Mr. Kazadi was kidnapped by military men who stole his money and work documents and then locked him up in the boot of his car.

Harassment against Mrs. Lubwitu Mafolo

In 2002, Mrs. Lubwitu Mafolo took in Mrs. Lydia Lufwabantu and her husband, both sought by the police at that time. They were members of the LE and had to go into hiding because of the threats generated by their activities in the League. They now live in exile.

Since their departure, Mrs. Lubwitu, who stayed in contact with the League, has been subjected to all sorts of pressure. The police searched her house several times in 2003 and questioned her regularly on her connections with the LE. The League lost contact with her in September 2003.

Mr. François Butedi arrested

During the night of 13th November 2003, Mr. François Butedi, a LE member, was arrested in his home in Kinshasa and taken to the police station. After beating and sequestering him, the police seized various working documents on human rights violations and insecurity in Kinshasa and in the Lower Congo province. These documents had been vital in finalising a report that the LE presented to the 34th session of the African Human Rights Commission at Banjul (6th to 20th November 2003).

Mr. Butedi was released the next day. He had been arrested in 2002 after a sit-in organised by LE to push for successful completion of inter-Congolese peace negotiations in Pretoria.

Harassment of Miss Ngandu Kabongo

Miss Ngandu Kabongo, an LE interviewer, was threatened and pressured by the authorities in 2003. During her investigation into rapes committed by the militia in the fighting zone, she was called in for questioning and interrogated three times between January and March 2003. The police, moreover, ordered her to stop her investigation and all other LE activities.

Miss Ngandu Kabongo was placed under arrest on 29th November 2003 for a few hours. Since the beginning of December, neither her family nor LE has had any news from her.

Detention, torture and harassment of members of the Lotus Group⁴³

Seven members of the Lotus Group detained and tortured Opala⁴⁴

At end of December 2002, Mr. Jonas Yeni Asambi, the enquiries officer at the Lotus Group in Opala and president of the Rural Radio NGO, was arrested by order of Commander Visuri, an officer in the RCD-Goma (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie) army based in Opala. He was accused of having encouraged "civil disobedience" among the Opala population by denouncing human rights violations in the region and reporting the inclusion of certain soldiers from Rwanda in the RCD-Goma army.

During an interrogation which included torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, Mr. Yeni Asambi gave the names of six of his colleagues and co-workers. All six were arrested on 28th December 2002. Their names are:

• Mr. Christian Ofafele Loyombo, member of the Lotus Group and headmaster of the medical technical institute of Opala;
• Mrs. Eugènie Loyombo Isso, member of the Lotus Group and principal of the Opala nursery school;
• Mr. Mambele, member of the Lotus Group and social services facilitator in Opala;
• Mr. Paul Ayaka, contributor to the Lotus Group and deacon of the Opala protestant community;
• Mr. Fany Yeni Loola, secretary-rapporteur of the Lotus Group and teacher at the Opala catholic secondary school;
• Mr. Okinani, contributor to the Lotus Group and catechist at the Opala catholic church.

Mr. Christian Ofafele Loyombo and Mrs. Eugénie Loyombo Isso were apparently arrested because of their activities and because they were relatives of Mr. Willy Loyombo, president of the Opala branch of the Lotus Group, who fled Kisanganci after receiving threats at the end of 2002.

These seven people were locked up in the prison of the RCD-Goma army headquarters where they have been beaten every day. Commander Visuri levied a fine of seven goats per prisoner. Although the families settled the fine, the prisoners were transferred to Isangi and finally released on 8th February 2003.

Afterwards Mr. Yeni Asamba and Mr. Okinani took refuge in Kisangani. Mr. Willy Loyombo, who secretly returned to Opala in March 2003, also had to return to Kisangani, when threatened by the Security and Intelligence Department (Département de la sécurité et des renseignements – DSR)

Mr. Guillaume Ali Efufu arrested and tortured – Kisangani⁴⁵

On 31st January 2003, a group of soldiers summoned Mr. Guillaume Ali Efufu, interviewer for the Lotus Group in Kisangani, on his way to the Lotus office. He was then brought to the RCD-Goma military police office for an ID check. Finding out he was a Lotus member, the senior military officer then immediately ordered his arrest. He was taken to the police station on 11th Avenue in Tshopo commune, where he was whipped over and over again on the sole of his feet and then thrown in jail for 24 hours. He was released on 1st February 2003 and taken to the Saint-Joseph medical centre in Tshopo for treatment.

Preventing a conference in Kisangani⁴⁶

At the last minute, the mayor Jean Sikoti tried to cancel and postpone a conference that the Lotus Group in Lubunga (Kisangani) had scheduled for 27th January 2003. The subject of the conference was the role of Congolese human rights defenders in the advent of peace and a law-based state in DRC. Armed soldiers and security services officers posted around the meeting hall spread panic among the participants, but the conference was held anyway.

Continued harassment of Mr. Kitenge Senga and Mr. Bosongo Kisangani

On 29th January 2003, following a conference held two days earlier in Lubunga, Mr. Dismas Kitenge Senga, President of the Lotus Group, was summoned by the DSR to the Kisangani city hall. Mr. Kitenge had to turn over the conference papers and the list of participants. He was reproached especially for holding the conference without the permission of the municipal authorities.

Mr. Kitenge and Mr. Jean-Baptiste Bosongo, president of the Lufalanga human rights defence group, attended a seminar organised by FIDH in Kinshasa from 25th to 28th February 2003. They were arrested upon their return to Kisangani and taken for questioning to the DSR headquarters. Although both of them had completed all the formalities required to travel through MONUC flights, the DSR authorities blamed them for going to Kinshasa without prior authorisation. They were also asked about their contacts in Kinshasa and their connections with international human rights organisations. Last, the DSR demanded information about the activities of Mrs. Bibiche Bambale, a Lotus member who lives in exile in Europe.

Mr. Kitenge and Mr. Bosongo were released a few hours later, at the order of the Governor of the Province.

Mr. Patrice Botalimbo Lifofela arrested – Opala

On 30th November 2003, Mr. Patrice Botalimbo Lifofela, a member of the Opala branch of the Lotus Group was arrested in Yaisau, 20 kms away from Opala, while leading a training session on citizens' rights and duties. According to the deputy head of the regional security services, who ordered the arrest, Mr. Botalimbo was urging the population not to pay local taxes.

M. Botalimbo was released on 2nd December thanks to the reaction of the local population. During his detention he was often subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, mainly beatings. Since then he has fled to Kisangani.

Threats against members of the Justice and Peace Commission Poko⁴⁷

The Commander in Chief of the national RCD troops in the region accused Mr. Michel Kaneru, a priest in the Saint Augustine Order and Father Ghislain Mokagoale, both members of the Justice and Peace Commission, together with the potestant Minister, Mr. Mubibake, with stirring up rebellion. The three of them serve the Poko parish in the Haut-Uélé district. Mr Kaneru, Mr. Mokagoalé and Mr. Mubibale, who denounced violations of human rights committed by the local authorities and the widespread impunity reigning in the region, had to go into hiding after receiving death threats from the military command between 15th and 25th April 2003.

They were not able to return to Poko until end April when the military commander of the region had been transferred.

Harassment of ASADHO – Beni

On 16th December 2003, three RCD-Kisangani military men interrupted the course given by Mr. Omar Kavota, a teacher and head of the Mangina branch of ASADHO, 30 kms away from Beni. Mr. Kavota had been ordered to turn in a 16-year old student, Muhindo Kaghoma Opisi, (a may-may "veteran" who had been discharged nine years earlier), so that he could be sent to a training camp. Thanks to Mr. Kavota's protests, backed by the school supervisor, Mr. Kalihi Pen Munongo, the three soldiers were not able to take the youngster with them.

On 19th December, Mr. Babaye, the commander in chief, ordered Mr. Kavota and Mr. Munongo to be arrested and taken to the military camp in Mangani. They were released the next day, after being tortured. They were beaten, whipped, rolled in the mud, undressed and forced to walk all around the town carrying heavy quantities of water. Although their health was not good, they were not given any treatment in Mangani and had to take refuge at ASADHO-Beni.

Mr. Kavota and Mr. Munongo lodged a complaint with the Beni military board.

---

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

35. See Annual Report 2002 and Open Letter to the authorities, dated 8th January 2003.

36. See Annual Report 2002 and press release of 27th January 2003.

37. See Annual Report 2002.

38. See Press Release of 16th April 2003.

39. As part of the reform of the military legal system, the President of the Republic, on 18th November 2002, promulgated Law n° 023/2002 on the Military Judicial Code. Article 379-2 of the Code rescinds Law no. 19 of 23rd August 1997, on the basis of which the Court of Military Order was created. Article 380 of the new law subordinates the law's entry in force to a date set out in a decree signed by the Head of State. On 18th March 2003, the Head of State signed Decree n° 032/2003 that sets the date for the entry into force of the aforementioned law. Article 1 stipulates that "Law n° 023/2002 of 18th November 2002 on the Military Judicial Code shall enter into force on 25th March 2003". Since that date, Law n° 023/2002 of 18th November 2002 on the Military Judicial Code is the only law that applies to the organisation and functioning of the military legal system in DRC, since the Court of Military Order and the Prosecution no longer exist.

40. See Press Release of 16th April 2003.

41. See Annual Report 2002.

42. Idem.

43. See Annual Report 2002.

44. See Urgent Appeal RDC 001/0203/OBS 007.

45. Idem.

46. Idem.

47. See Annual Report 2002.