The sentencing of 13 activists to one year in prison in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for speaking out against the government-imposed “state of siege” is an example of the curtailing of freedom in the public space, according to activists and human rights experts.
“The conviction of these 13 activists solely for exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly is yet another outrageous and shameful attempt to root out dissent in the DRC,” said Flavia Mwangovya, deputy director of Amnesty International for East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region.
Thirteen members of Lucha, or Struggle for Change, a pro-democracy group, were arrested in Beni, North Kivu, last November. They had gathered for an unauthorized protest of an extension of the government-imposed “state of siege”.
The government edict was imposed last May, but has not curtailed the violence carried out by a number of armed groups in the Ituri and North Kivu regions, where Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) operates and which claims to be an affiliate of Islamic State (IS).
This provides yet another example of curtailing human rights, according to opposition leader Martin Fayulu, head of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party in the DRC.
“When I heard the news, I thought it was just an “April Fools,” says Fayulu. The sentence was handed down in a military tribunal on 1 April.
“Their fault was to say ‘no’ to the extension of the state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri. We don’t know what is going on because they have restricted the human rights of all Congolese in those regions,” Fayulu told RFI.
The group, founded in 2012, has been at the forefront of apolitical, non-violent campaigning for change and accountability in the country. They also participated in protests against former president Joseph Kabila in 2019. President Felix Tshisekedi succeeded him.
The 13 Lucha activists convicted were also given fines of 110 euros. Their attorney Jean Pie Mbayo said he would appeal the sentence.
Setting the stage for 2023 elections
A number of Congolese political actors have voiced concern that quashing human rights and freedom of speech could have an impact on the 2023 presidential elections.
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“We really have to sit down and discuss the upcoming elections…it will take place next year, and if Tshishekedi doesn’t do that, we won’t leave him alone,” says Fayulu, who had run against the president for the top job in 2018.
Fayulu appealed to the international community to come to the aid of the Congo.
“To help Congo is like they’re helping Ukraine. This is the same, because people are dying every day here,” he says, citing six million internally displaced people within the country, not to mention the millions who have fled as refugees.
“And yet, Congo is the country where you have cobalt, coltan, copper, and so on. And this is just because we don’t have good leadership,” he adds.
