Democratic Republic of Congo: Four activists arbitrarily detained
Youth activists Grâce Tshiuza, Mino Bompomi, Cedric Kalonji and Carbone Beni remain in arbitrary detention and have yet to be brought to court since their arrest on 30 December 2017 while mobilizing the public to participate in a peaceful protest. The authorities have been reluctant to share information on what they are accused of. They are being held by the National Intelligence Agency (ANR).
UA: 38/18 Index: AFR 62/7897/2018 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Date: 14 March 2018
URGENT ACTION
FOUR ACTIVISTS ARBITRARILY DETAINED
Youth activists Grâce Tshiuza, Mino Bompomi, Cedric Kalonji and Carbone Beni remain in
arbitrary detention and have yet to be brought to court since their arrest on 30 December
2017 while mobilizing the public to participate in a peaceful protest. The authorities have
been reluctant to share information on what they are accused of. They are being held by
the National Intelligence Agency (ANR).
Four youth activists, Grâce Tshiunza, Mino Bompomi, Cedric Kalonji and Carbone Beni, were arrested on 30
December 2017 in Kinshasa, but have yet to be brought to court nor notified of the charges against them. Congolese
law does not allow detention beyond 48 hours without being presented in court. The four were arrested while they
were mobilizing the public to participate in a peaceful demonstration to demand the full implementation of the 31
December 2016 Agreement aimed at ensuring an “inclusive, peaceful and credible” election. The peaceful protest
organized by the Lay Coordination Committee (CLC) of the Catholic Church took place the day after the activists
were arrested.
Upon their arrest, the four were taken to the provincial police inspection station known as IPKIN. Three of the youth
activists were then transferred to the ANR detention facility in Kinshasa, while Carbone Beni was taken to Camp
Tshatshi, a military intelligence detention facility in Kinshasa. Carbone Beni was later transferred to the same ANR
detention facility as the other three activists. On 12 January, they were all transferred to another ANR detention
centre known as 3 Zulu, near the Prime Minister’s Office in Kinshasa. Amnesty International has learned that on 1
March, Mino Bompomi and Cedric Kalonji were taken back to the ANR detention facility where they were first held
following their arrest.
For more than two months, the Congolese authorities denied the detained youth activists’ access to their families
and lawyers. They are now allowed visits from their families and lawyers but this still depends on the goodwill of the
guards, which is not always forthcoming.
The four youth activists are members of Filimbi, a citizen’s movement campaigning for President Joseph Kabila to
step down after his constitutionally-allowed two-term mandate expired in December 2016.
Please write immediately in French or your own language:
Urging the Congolese authorities to release Grâce Tshiunza, Mino Bompomi, Cedric Kalonji and Carbone Beni
unless they are charged with internationally recognizable criminal offenses if there are legitimate reasons for
doing so;
Urging them to ensure that the four youth activists are not subjected to torture and other ill-treatment while in
detention;
Urging them to ensure that the prison guards allow the four men full access to their families and lawyers.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 25 APRIL 2018 TO:
Minister of Justice
Monsieur Alexis Tambwe Mwamba
Ministère de la Justice
228 Av de Lemera
Kinshasa-Gombe
BP 3137
DRC
Email: minjustdh@gmail.com
Salutation: Honourable Minister
Minister of Human Rights
Marie-Ange Mushobekwa
Ministere des droits Humains
Place Royal
Kinshasa-Gombe
DRC
Email: mushobekwa.likulia@gmail.com
Salutation: Honourable Minister
Attorney General
Floribert Kabange Numbi
Procureur General de la Republique
Immeuble INSS
Boulevard du 30 Juin Kinshasa/Gombe
DRC
Email: florykan@yahoo.fr
Salutation: Attorney General
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
FOUR ACTIVISTS ARBITRARILY DETAINED
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) President Joseph Kabila has been in office since 2001 and was declared winner of
the 2006 and 2011 elections. The Congolese Constitution limits presidential mandates to two consecutive terms of five years
each. President Kabila’s second and last mandate ended on 19 December 2016, but he remains in power after failing to organize
elections.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops (CENCO) led an inclusive national dialogue which resulted in an agreement signed on 31
December 2016. The Agreement included provisions aimed at building trust and improving the political situation in the country by
releasing prisoners, upholding the freedom of the press and allowing the return of opposition leaders from exile to participate in
“inclusive, peaceful and credible elections.”
President Kabila’s failure to honour the 31 December Agreement has been seen by many as his unwillingness to leave power.
This has led to several peaceful demonstrations led by the Lay Coordination Committee of the Catholic Church since December
2017. These protests have been held to call on President Kabila to fully implement the 31 December Agreement. These protests,
so far conducted on 31 December 2017, 21 January and 25 February 2018, have been supported by the opposition groups and
citizen’s movements including Filimbi. The brutal response of the security forces to these protests have resulted in the death of at
least 13 people and left dozens of protesters injured, as well as several arbitrary arrests and detentions.
Over the past three years, the DRC government has resorted to illegal detentions to prevent human rights defenders and
activists from organizing against its perceived tactics to delay the elections. On 15 March 2015, pro-democracy activists, Fred
Bauma and Yves Makwambala were arrested and held incommunicado for more than a month in Kinshasa. In August the same
year, their colleague Bienvenu Matumo went missing for three days before being released without any explanation on the
reasons for his arrest and detention. In December 2016, Gloria Senga and Musasa Tshibanda went missing for several days as
they were preparing protest against what they considered to be attempts to delay of the elections. It was later revealed that
they had been detained by the authorities.
Name: Grâce Tshiunza (m), Mino Bompomi (m), Cedric Kalonji (m) and Carbone Beni (m)
Gender m/f: m
UA: 38/18 Index: AFR 62/7897/2018 Issue Date: 14 March 2018