Military Rule Imposed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

DRC Soldiers training with UN Peacekeeping troops to train in precision shooting. (Flickr)

President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ordered military and police officers on May 2 to take over from civilian authorities for at least thirty days in two eastern regions that he has proclaimed under a “state of siege.” This comes four days after Tshisekedi notified cabinet members of the new status for the states of North Kivu and Ituri following the deaths of more than 300 people in the region this year and nearly 850 last year.

Under the constitution of the DRC, the president is able to declare a state of siege “if severe circumstances immediately threaten the independence or integrity of the national territory.” However, this power has never been used by a president since the country has gained independence. He claimed that this decision was made after hearing “the cries of distress of our population, and felt the pain that our mothers, sisters, and daughters are suffering in these provinces ravaged by barbarity.”

According to Reuters, the Saturday following the announcement of a “state of siege,” one of the most influential imams of North Kivu was shot dead inside a central mosque of the province’s capital. His radio messages were known to be in opposition to Islamic militancy, which also went against the main terrorist group in the region, the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF.

The ADF, branded by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, is a group of Ugandan Islamist fighters that have sown discord in the eastern DRC that borders Uganda since 1995. Their intent is to establish an “Islamic State” in the region. However, in 2020, the UN claimed that the group’s attacks could be considered both crimes against humanity and war crimes. Though only estimated at around 1,000-2,000 members as of 2018, the group is still highly effective in causing chaos in the lightly governed region.

The violence, largely caused by the ADF, has had disastrous effects on the region. UNICEF claims that nearly 1.6 million people out of 5.7 million total in the province of Ituri were displaced. According to João Caholo, Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, children in the region will “suffer the consequences of persistent violence even if fighting stopped now.” 

Although this violence has been hampering the potential economic growth of the mineral-rich region, following crackdowns such as this military rule, the region could begin to prosper. A few weeks prior to the announcement, the President of Kenya met with Tshisekedi and discussed a “fast-tracked” integration of the DRC into Kenya’s East African Community. This integration would follow infrastructure projects that connect the Congo River to Mombasa, as well as Kenyan outposts in cities in the East. 

These projects do travel directly through the states of North Kivu and Ituri, but if they succeed, then the 87 million people of the DRC could begin infrastructure projects and develop their war-torn country with promises of a better life not through warfare. The Kenyan Ambassador to the DRC spoke highly of Tshisekedi, expecting him “to form an effective government with the vision and capacity to implement policies that will meaningfully improve security, governance, and the socio-economic living conditions of the people."