THE ATROCITIES THAT OCCURRED IN THE KASAI REGION, FOLLOWING THE PHENOMENON OF KAMUINA NSAPU

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resent at the 35 th session of Human Right in Geneva, the Minister of Human Rights, Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, swept a backhand charges against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the atrocities that occurred in the Kasai region, following the phenomenon of Kamuina Nsapu, which became famous, associated with the electoral process.Ms. Mushobekwa showed, in black and white, that there is no cause and effect link between the security situation in the provinces of Kasai and the electoral process. “The Kamuina Nsapu phenomenon began in June 2016 on the basis of customary claims, while the national and presidential elections were to be held in November 2016,” she said.

In addition, it broke the nail, asking civilised nations if they could tolerate terrorist acts on their soil. However, the minister did not hide the Government’s disapproval of the acts perpetrated by some men in uniforms on civilians. In order to fight against impunity, the Head of State, Joseph Kabila, on 13 April 2017 instructed the Minister of Justice to dispatch military magistrates, Serious investigations and punish the perpetrators of these atrocities. With regard to the mass graves, Marie-Ange Mushobekwa demonstrated that the work carried out on the ground, together with the joint teams of Monusco and the FARDC Auditorate, did not lead to the alleged allegations, To the point of pushing the Monusco teams to discouragement and disappointment. In so doing, it invited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that this case is treated impartially, without any pressure and, above all, without political interference. As for international investigations, the Government, reiterated the Minister, reiterated its determination to continue its collaboration with the United Nations and intended to retain the leadership of the United Nations. The following is her full address. Said the Minister, reiterated her determination to continue working with the United Nations and intended to retain the leadership of the United Nations. The following is her full address. Said the Minister, reiterated her determination to continue working with the United Nations and intended to retain the leadership of the United Nations.

Speech by Her Excellency Minister of Human Rights of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Marie-Ange Mushobekwa

35th session of the Human Rights Council. Geneva, 20 June 2017

Mr President of the Human Rights Council,

Mr High Commissioner for Human Rights,

Ladies and Gentlemen Members of the Council,

Your Excellencies, Ladies Ambassadors,

The delegation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which I lead, has the honour to greet you and to extend to you the warm greetings of His Excellency the President of the Republic Joseph Kabila.

Our presence here in Geneva, at the 35 th session of the Human Rights, reflects the commitment of my country to continue its collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the protection and promotion Of human rights.

Contrary to the unfounded assertions made by some countries that have spoken in this room since the beginning of this session, there is no cause and effect relationship between the security situation in the Kasai Provinces and the electoral process in Democratic Republic of Congo. Kamuina Nsapu has not taken up arms because there was no organisation of legislative and presidential elections in November 2016. All credible sources clearly inform the militia set up by the late Kamuina Nsapu Pandi John Prince,   had Began its operations since June 2016. And this, on the basis of customary claims.

We would like to know, which country in the world, represented here at the United Nations Human Rights Council, would accept that a group of people, for mystico-customary claims, mount a militia on its ground, attack, disarm , Then kills the forces of order, then publicly decapitates them, drinks their blood and walks with their heads like trophy? Which country would accept that a group of militiamen or terrorists – it is according to recruit children, drugs, then push them to burn all the public buildings (schools, clinics, police stations etc.) and to commit Murders of innocent civilians who resist the destructive ideology of Kamuina Nsapu? If this phenomenon crossed the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Or even those of the African continent, and was established in the West, how would the so-called civilised world qualify it? Of course, terrorist! Because we all know here that this mode of operation is no different from the other terrorist groups that all peace-loving countries are fighting today.

It is true, as I pointed out on March 2nd, here before the UN Human Rights Council, that some unruly Congolese soldiers opened fire on innocent civilians in some villages in Kasai.

These images of the village of Muanza Lomba have toured all the continents, and moved the whole world. First, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila. On 13 April 2017 he instructed the Minister of Justice to take measures within his mandate so that the relevant prosecutor’s offices and auditors could initiate investigations where they had not yet done so, So that, as soon as possible, justice will be given to all victims of the atrocities of Kasai . Military magistrates were dispatched to Kasai to investigate these atrocities . The alleged perpetrators were identified and brought before the military courts of M’buji Mayi, in the province of Kasai Oriental. The first hearing took place on 05 June 2017. And the trial continues in full transparency until now and will go to the end. The United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of the Congo, in acronym MONUSCO, as well as the Joint United Nations Office on Human Rights are attending. This is without counting all the human rights NGOs that have requested it .

With regard to the murder of the two United Nations experts Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan, who were murdered on 12 March 2017 in the village of Bunkonde in Central Kasai Province, we again deplore this act of barbarism. The video presented by the Congolese military auditorate in April before the head of MONUSCO and some members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Kinshasa proves that the men of Kamuina Nsapu took the lives of the UN experts. To this end, nine of the suspects whose files were already open to the Kananga auditorium were arrested and seven remain untraceable . However, MONUSCO says it knows where other alleged assassins of two UN experts are hiding. Until now,

Also in the case of Sharp and Catalan, an investigation was conducted by the Congolese military justice, with the support of MONUSCO and the UN Joint Office on Human Rights. The FBI, the American police, was even associated with my request from the US government to do justice to Michael Sharp. If a request had been sent to us by the Swedish Government, to do justice to Zaida Catalan, we would have accepted without hesitation. Simply because we have nothing to hide. On the contrary, we do our utmost to see the truth in this case and to do justice to the victims.

The first hearing of the trial of the two UN experts began on 05 June 2017 in Kananga, Kasai Central. MONUSCO and the UN Joint Office on Human Rights are there every day. All NGOs who so wish.

Justice will be returned to Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan. But justice will also be given to their four Congolese nationals whose media and the international community speak very little and whose bodies are still not found.

Justice will also be handed over to the 1333 civilians and 289 policemen killed to date; Including 100 civilians and 39 policemen killed by decapitation by the terrorist group of Kamuina Nsapu. And we assure you that all civilian and / or political personalities, be they CEO, Minister, Deputies, Senators or Governors, whose guilt will be at the end of the investigations, will answer for their actions.

As for the mass graves in the chronicle, which MONUSCO and the BCNUDH have located, it has been several weeks since the FARDC General Auditor has asked the MONUSCO teams in Kananga to carry out a joint mission with The Congolese Military Justice, but these teams are slow to come. The few times that a few teams arrived in Kananga, after the insistence of the Congolese Military Auditorate, a joint MONUSCO / FARDC mission was carried out in the commune of Nganza where MONUSCO claimed to have identified seven mass graves. The first one was dug, it was a grave where one had found a body. Further on, at 100 m, another supposedly mass grave was dug, the investigators found a 12-calibre hunting weapon, and in the third, Two bodies without heads had been buried there. Then, in the territory of Tshimbulu, a supposed mass grave was dug not far from the place where the bodies of the two UN experts had been found. The joint MONUSCO / FARDC Auditorat teams found a motorcycle there. After the start of these investigations, MONUSCO teams were clearly discouraged and disappointed that they had not found the mass graves they had announced through the media a few days earlier. Since then, they had promised the Upper Auditor of Kananga to return there to continue the investigations. But this promise has not been followed up until now. An alleged mass grave was dug not far from where the bodies of the two UN experts had been found. The joint MONUSCO / FARDC Auditorat teams found a motorcycle there. After the start of these investigations, MONUSCO teams were clearly discouraged and disappointed that they had not found the mass graves they had announced through the media a few days earlier. Since then, they had promised the Upper Auditor of Kananga to return there to continue the investigations. But this promise has not been followed up until now. An alleged mass grave was dug not far from where the bodies of the two UN experts had been found. The joint MONUSCO / FARDC Auditorat teams found a motorcycle there. After the start of these investigations, MONUSCO teams were clearly discouraged and disappointed that they had not found the mass graves they had announced through the media a few days earlier. Since then, they had promised the Upper Auditor of Kananga to return there to continue the investigations. But this promise has not been followed up until now. And were disappointed not to have found the mass graves that they had announced through the media a few days earlier. Since then, they had promised the Upper Auditor of Kananga to return there to continue the investigations. But this promise has not been followed up until now. And were disappointed not to have found the mass graves that they had announced through the media a few days earlier. Since then, they had promised the Upper Auditor of Kananga to return there to continue the investigations. But this promise has not been followed up until now.

Let me emphasise, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, that the sad truth is that we are looking for mass graves everywhere, except where they could actually exist. It is no secret that the Tshiota, the initiation sites of Kamuina Nsapu where human beings are slaughtered, drink their blood, in the name of customary rituals, are real human “butcheries.” No one wonders what the Kamuina Nsapu have made of the bodies of all these people they have decapitated in these Tshiota? Where did they bury them? Surely somewhere! But one thing is certain, it is not in a cemetery recognised by the Congolese state.

That is why we are still calling on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to deal with this case impartially, without any pressure and above all without political interference.   This phenomenon Kamuina Nsapu has first of all bereaved the Democratic Republic of Congo and its people. Some countries should not use the blood of our compatriots for political purposes. Neither seek to instrumentalise the human rights council, which is so respectable, to settle accounts with states whose leaders do not like them. That this mass graves case does not today become a slogan used by some countries, which told the world in 2003, that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction that we have never seen before.

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo therefore solemnly reiterates its determination to continue its collaboration with the United Nations. It agrees to host a team of United Nations investigators on its soil in support of the Congolese judiciary in order to shed light on the atrocities of the Kasai. But this support will be technical and / or logistic, and Congolese justice will retain the leadership of these investigations, as we pointed out in the letter sent to the High Commissioner on 9 June. Following these joint investigations, the Congolese courts will prosecute the alleged perpetrators and will judge them in accordance with the penal code in force in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Thank you