Advertisement

Protests in DR Congo over Bill to reform justice

Friday June 26 2020
protest

Protesters face police around parliament in DR Congo capital Kinshasa on June 24, 2020. PHOTO | AFP

By PATRICK ILUNGA

Activists held demonstrations for two days in the Democratic Republic of Congo to oppose a Bill on reforming the justice system.

The Bill proposes to have the office of the prosecution answer to the Ministry of Justice, a situation opposed by political parties and the national union of magistrates.

From June 23 to 24, activists stoned the homes of deputies and senators allied to Front Commun pour le Congo (FCC), the party of former president Joseph Kabila.

The protestors occupied the area around the National Assembly and the Senate. The demonstrators, some armed with petrol bombs, blocked traffic outside parliament in Kinshasa on Wednesday, erecting barriers and burning tyres.

Police first fired warning shots and then used tear gas to disperse them.

Leading the opposition to the Bills is the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), which is the party of President Félix Tshisekedi.

Advertisement

In a statement, the UDPS asked the FCC “not to impose its will on the Congolese people by force”.

The UDPS is in an uneasy coalition with forces close to former president Kabila. Only a third of the government ministers are from the UDPS.

JOINT STATEMENT

Also opposed to the Bill is the Lamuka coalition. In a joint statement by Jean-Pierre Bemba, Moïse Katumbi, Martin Fayulu and Adolphe Muzito, Lamuka termed the proposed reforms a “manoeuvre of confiscation of the powers of the prosecutors of the republic by FCC”.

According to UDPS, the Bill does not “resolve any difficulty related to the functioning of the judiciary, but aims to undermine justice for the benefit of the Ministry of Justice”. The UDPS also accuses the FCC and the two deputies who initiated the reform of wanting “to protect criminals and thus encourage impunity” at all costs.

Coming at a time of increased calls for legal action against officials who served under former president Kabila, the Bill is seen as meant to subvert the rule of law.

In a reaction to the protests, the ruling coalition, People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), called for the arrest and prosecution of the masterminds of the “acts of violence” .

A PPRD official has even promised a “political and judicial” response to the attacks that members of his party have suffered.

Advertisement