Submit this form
Home News Videos Music Photos Facebook Twitter Friends Newsletter Podcasts Mobile RSS
Seven killed in demonstrations, hundreds arrested

KINSHASA, 30 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - At least seven protestors were killed and hundreds more arrested in demonstrations on Thursday in various suburbs Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and in other urban areas.

The protests are against a delay in national elections which were to have been held before Thursday. Last week the parliament of the transitional government extended the election timetable by at least six months.

"A government made up of former belligerents [in the armed conflict in the DRC] is incapable of organising elections which it had promised to hold by 30 June 2005," said Tshibala Tshioma, a protestor and member of the opposition l'Union pour la democratie et le progres social (UDPS), the main political party which called the demonstration.

The UDPS says the leaders of former armed groups who are now among President Joseph Kabila four vice-presidents have no interest in ending the transition process.

"They are doing nothing but eating a lot of money while the population suffers," Tshioma said.

In a broadcast on state television on Wednesday, and in anticipation of the demonstrations, Kabila appealed to the nation for calm. He reiterated his determination to end the transitional process and let the population freely choose their leaders.

Voter registration for the elections began on 20 June but only in Kinshasa and donor countries are expressing concern that the process could drag on.

In Kinshasa on Thursday, some policemen beat up demonstrators and robbed them of their possessions. At least one person was killed and several injured when police fired bullets and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

In Tshikapa, a town 700 km southeast of Kinshasa in the province of Kasai Occidental, six demonstrators were killed, a witness said.

"The shots started right when we began protesting," Mulumba Mposhi, a local UDPS leader in Tshikapa, said. But these shots do not scare us from our goal of chasing out this government."

In Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, heavy weapons were fired during a demonstration there. The number of causalities is not yet known.

In Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of Kasai-Oriental, five people were killed in an exchange of gunfire between police and prisoners escaping from the local jail.

"Many of the people arrested during demonstrations two days earlier were in the prison," Amigo Gonde, president of the Kinshasa-based human rights NGO l'Association africaine des droits de l'homme, said on Thursday. "They were amongst criminals who are now profiting from the political violence."

So far, no government authority has confirmed that people have been killed, wounded and arrested.


Related articles


  1. Felix Tshisekedi Sworn In as DR Congo President (January 24, 2019)
  2. Constitutional Court Declares Tshisekedi Winner of Presidential Election (January 19, 2019)
  3. Felix Tshisekedi Vows to Be the President of All Congolese (January 10, 2019)
  4. Felix Tshisekedi Elected DR Congo President (January 10, 2019)
  5. DR Congo Delays Results of December Election (January 6, 2019)
  6. Felix Tshisekedi withdraws support for joint opposition presidential bid (November 12, 2018)
  7. Jean-Pierre Bemba Returns to DR Congo (August 1, 2018)
  8. At least 30 dead after massacres in Ituri (March 2, 2018)
  9. Botswana Urges Joseph Kabila to Step Down (February 26, 2018)
  10. No elections in DR Congo in December without electronic voting machines: INEC (February 13, 2018)
  11. US Warns DR Congo Against Electronic Voting for Delayed Election (February 12, 2018)
  12. Felix Tshisekedi accuses INEC of illegally prolonging Kabila's mandate (October 24, 2017)
  13. DRC Seeks Arrest of Presidential Candidate Moise Katumbi (May 19, 2016)
  14. Papa Wemba Is Buried in Kinshasa (May 4, 2016)
  15. Papa Wemba Awarded Highest National Honor as Thousands Pay Tribute (May 2, 2016)
  16. DR Congo reach final of African Nations Championship (February 3, 2016)
  17. Political tensions 'running high' in DR Congo ahead of 2016 elections (October 7, 2015)
  18. Rights Groups: DR Congo Must Free Pro-democracy Activists (April 13, 2015)
  19. Police Open Fire on Crowd Protesting Election Law Change (January 19, 2015)
  20. Etienne Tshisekedi Evacuated to Belgium for Medical Treatment (August 16, 2014)
  21. 15 dead in football match stampede in Kinshasa (May 12, 2014)
  22. Kerry Calls on Kabila to Honor Constitution (May 4, 2014)
  23. Kerry in DR Congo for Security Talks (May 3, 2014)
  24. Security Council extends UN mission, intervention force in DR Congo for one year (March 28, 2014)
  25. Death toll in Lake Albert boat accident rises to 108 people (March 24, 2014)
  26. DR Congo Takes Chairmanship of COMESA at Summit in Kinshasa (February 26, 2014)
  27. DR Congo Honors Nelson Mandela, Hero and Model for Humanity (December 6, 2013)
  28. Kabila Congratulates Congo Army for Defeating M23 Rebels (October 30, 2013)
  29. M23 Rebels Kill, Rape Civilians in Eastern Congo: Human Rights Watch (July 22, 2013)
  30. DR Congo Eases Process for Starting a New Business (June 3, 2013)


Live TV Congo Radio en ligne Radio
Available on App Store
Get it on Google Play



Contact Us | About Us | Édition en Français | French Edition

© CongoPlanet.com. All rights reserved.