DRC: controversy over the management of the May 20 demonstration
Opposition march dispersed by police for non-compliance with the route imposed by the authorities, May 20, 2023, in Kinshasa, DRC. © Pascal Mulegwa/RFI
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2 min
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, controversy erupted in Kinshasa after the demonstration of Saturday, May 20, dispersed by the police. The Congolese Minister of Human Rights regretted acts committed by the security forces while the provincial authorities of Kinshasa announced that they would file a complaint against the organizers of the march.
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The brutal methods used to disperse the movement had already been denounced at the press conference held on Saturday afternoon by the four leaders behind the demonstration. But images of the dispersal of the movement have also invaded social networks and created strong emotions in Kinshasa.
Congolese Human Rights Minister Albert-Fabrice Puela condemned in a statement "acts of repression" and "brutality" against protesters, including "minors." "We demand urgent investigations from the judiciary so that accountability is established for the various violations found," he said.
The human rights NGO ACAJ said it had "noted several cases of violence committed by certain elements of the Congolese national police, assisted in this by a person in civilian clothes, including against a young protester apparently a minor". ACAJ condemns these acts and demands a credible judicial investigation to identify and severely punish their perpetrators.
The agreed itinerary not respected
The provincial authorities, for their part, insist that the agreed route was not respected as well as the violence of the demonstrators. In a statement, Kinshasa police chief Sylvano Kasongo said police asked opponents "to respect the route agreed with the urban authority," which, he said, they refused to do.
The provincial police station announces that three police officers who abused a minor have been arrested. He also announced that twenty-seven police officers had also been injured, three of them seriously, due in particular to projectiles thrown by the demonstrators.
The provincial executive of the city of Kinshasa said it had bitterly noted "a flagrant violation of the guidelines given at the end of the harmonization meeting" that had taken place on May 18 and which had set a route. He reports that identified opposition activists have carried out acts of vandalism in the commune of Ngaba and announces that a complaint will be filed on Monday, May 22, against the organizers of the demonstration.
During the two simultaneous pro- and anti-government demonstrations in Kinshasa on Saturday, one person died, according to security sources. This is an opposition activist who fell during clashes between his comrades and young people from the presidential party who were demonstrating in support of the institutions.
The death toll has not yet been confirmed by the Congolese authorities. According to opposition sources, it could be revised upwards.
► Read also: DRC: the march of the opposition dispersed in Kinshasa
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