By Eloge Kaneza

From November 22 to 24, Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa visited the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri to review the state of siege – essentially a state of emergency – that has been in force there since May 2021.

According to Amnesty International, “Under the state of siege, all local authorities and ordinary courts have been replaced by military and police officers, and given powers to restrict freedoms of expression, peaceful association, assembly and movement to the extent they deem them necessary.” 

The two eastern provinces of the vast Central African country have been plunged into insecurity for three decades, and President Félix Tshisekedi has stated that he imposed the emergency measures to try to protect civilians. However, Amnesty International reports that instead of reducing casualties of civilians, this number has more than doubled in the past year. 

On her arrival in the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, on November 22, Suminwa was greeted with demonstrations.

“We want to see the civil authorities resume their functions as was the case before the state of siege was introduced,” shouted one group of civilians, placards in hand. A second group shouted the opinion that the state of siege should be maintained, to allow for what they called “the smooth running of military operations.”

According to some protestors, such as Wilson Twitegure, a member of the Ensemble pour la République party of opposition figure Moïse Katumbi, the state of siege must be lifted.

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“I am opposed to the maintenance of the state of siege. …. Contrary to our hopes of seeing the army drive out the aggressor, it is the opposite that we are seeing on the ground,” Twitegure said. He asked the Congolese government to lift this measure, “which only multiplies the misfortunes of the Congolese.” 

“We demand that the government keep a military man in command of the province with a civilian as deputy governor. The governor would take care of all security issues while the vice-governor would take care of the administration,” said Baudouin Ntasugi of the Youth Dynamics for Sustainable Development of Masisi.

At the conclusion of Prime Minister Judith Suminwa’s tour assessing the state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, she announced to the press that the grievances and recommendations of different groups will be analyzed by the Congolese government’s Defense and Security Commission before a final report is presented to the head of state, President Félix Tshisekedi.

“It was very important to be able to do these consultations, especially to listen to people. Now that we have done this, we are returning to Kinshasa,” said Suminwa, speaking from Bunia, the capital of Ituri.

Photo by SOS Medias Burundi: The arrival of Prime Minister Judith Suminwa, Friday November 22, 2024, in Goma (North Kivu)/Ph. Jimmy Shukrani Bakomera

According to many participants in these consultations, the lifting of the state of siege was the recommendation of almost all the active forces and provincial deputies.

“The number of deaths and militias has increased during this period of the state of siege, as has the degree of violence. Even those displaced by war and resettled in internal displacement camps have been victims of attacks by local and foreign militias. We especially deplore the hundreds of deaths in these camps. This was not the case before the implementation of this measure,” said Pellet Kaswara, Rapporteur of the Provincial Assembly.

However, the Caucus of Local Customary Chiefs argued via their spokesperson that “the state of siege must remain in force until the militias are disarmed.”

Kataloho Takumara, spokesman for the traditional authorities of Ituri, said, “The government must instead strengthen the military and accelerate the disarmament and demobilization process in order to consolidate peace and preserve the gains of the state of siege.” He said the measure has led to the pacification of much of the province.

On November 25, the National Assembly authorized a new extension of the state of siege in the two eastern provinces of the vast Central African country, despite the negative assessment drawn up by the national deputies elected by the constituencies of these two regions, among the richest in DR Congo in terms of minerals.

Elected officials from the provinces told Parliament during Suminwa’s visit that they believe The state of siege should be listed, and management of  the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu entrusted to civilians. 

Since May 2021, the action of the civilian courts has been replaced by that of the military courts. By establishing a state of siege, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi had pledged to “find a solution to the unacceptable situation in the east.”

The provinces of North Kivu and Ituri are plagued by repeated attacks by over a hundred local and foreign armed groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) of Ugandan origin aligned with Islamist political goals and practices, and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Hutus-FDLR).

Also found in this part of Congo is the main Congolese armed group, the M23, which has seized several areas of North Kivu since mid-June 2022, including the city of Bunagana, on the border with Uganda, where it has set up its headquarters. The Congolese authorities accuse Rwanda of supporting this Tutsi rebellion, allegations which the Rwandan government has consistently refuted.