Thirteen accused of the wave of intercommunal violence in western DRC sentenced to death

June 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –

A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has sentenced thirteen defendants to death for their participation in the wave of violence between the Teke and Yaka communities that has devastated the territory of Kwamouth, in the western province of Mai Ndombe, and which, according to an NGO, has left more than 300 dead in the last twelve months.

The conflict erupted around July 2022 when notables from the Teke people, who own much of the land and customary title to the territory, announced a tax increase, which many farmers in the Yaka and Mbala communities ended up rejecting.

The death of a peasant allegedly at the hands of the brother of a Teke cacique during an escrache ended up detonating the violence of the following months, characterized by massacres, sexual abuse and extensive destruction of property.

The judicial process includes at least 115 people accused of charges related to acts of terrorism, murder, arson, criminal conspiracy, illegal possession of military equipment and looting.

Seven other detainees have ended up being released due to lack of evidence while an eighth, a minor, has also escaped a sentence when the court declared itself incapacitated, according to the Congolese Press Agency, ACP, reported this Sunday.

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), for its part, demands from the Congolese government a long-term strategy to improve security in the territory of Kwamouth and its surroundings. HRW denounces that the response of the authorities so far has been “inadequate” since it has not managed to impose a “durable solution” on the origin of the crisis, the increase in this tax, which leaves “communities exposed to more cycles lethal violence and reprisals”.