DRC: what suspicions weigh on the former boss of the ANR, Kalev Mutendo?

Text by: RFI Follow

The former boss of the ANR, who was released after several hours of hearing, seems to maintain the vagueness about the reasons for his presence on the premises of the intelligence services, themselves not very talkative on the grounds of the arrest by Kalev Mutendo. But we now know a little more about the suspicions of threat to the security of the State that weigh on him. Furthermore, this inquiry did not leave human rights organizations indifferent.

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Kalev Mutondo, ex-boss of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), was arrested Wednesday, February 12, at Kinshasa airport. Heard for several hours, the former chief of intelligence was authorized to return to his home at the end of the day.

But Kalev Mutondo is subject to provisional measures. According to a source familiar with the matter, before leaving the ANR facilities on Wednesday, the former Congolese super cop had to surrender his passport and other travel documents. He was then told that he should not leave Kinshasa before the end of the investigation. He can also not approach airports, ports and other border crossings, informs a document of the intelligence services.

Serious suspicion hangs over the former number 1 of the ANR which, according to his successors, is said to be on the alert with forces hostile to the current Kinshasa regime. The latter above all refer to contacts described as " compromising " that Kalev Mutondo is said to have made with national and foreign armed groups that scour eastern DRC.

We are talking about members of the former pro-Rwandan M23 rebellion refugees in Uganda, as well as Rwandan rebels who are hunted down by the FARDC with the aim of repatriating them to their country of origin. Is there a link between the persistence of insecurity in the Beni region and the visits of Kalev Mutondo to neighboring countries? This is what Kinshasa wants to know, replies one of the Congolese intelligence officials.

"An act that goes in the right direction"

This inquiry resounds in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a strong signal sent by the new government to express its desire to restore the rule of law in the country.

#RDC: Mr. Kalev Mutond has just been released, with an obligation to respond to any invitation from the ANR. ACAJ welcomes the fact that its fundamental rights have been respected by ANR officials.

Georges Kapiamba, coordinator of the Congolese Association for Access to Justice (Acaj), the message behind this inquiry is that no one is untouchable anymore. “ It is a real break with the past, in that Kalev Mutondo had always been considered, in the DRC, as one of the untouchable people. The fact that he was arrested, questioned and detained for a short time before being released under certain conditions is really a break, ”said the lawyer.

The Acaj coordinator hopes that Kalev Mutondo will continue to cooperate with the justice system: “ This constitutes a strong signal to any other Congolese citizen, whatever their rank. Everyone should know that if he does not comply with the laws of the Republic, if he violates human rights, he can be arrested, heard, prosecuted and he may have to render accounts before a competent court. It is really an act that goes in the right direction to reaffirm the restoration of the rule of law that the Congolese have been asking for so much since the arrival of the new president. "

It is really an act that goes in the right direction to reaffirm the restoration of the rule of law that the Congolese have been demanding so much since the arrival of the new president.

Me Georges Kapiamba

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