20100615
africanews

Congolese are against the appointment of General Charles Bisengima as the new boss of the Police Service in the DR Congo. The security capo has been indicted by an International Non-governmental Commission of Inquiry with 19 crimes. His appointment follows the dismissal of former head General John Numbi.

General Bisengima was part of the Rwandan-propped rebellion of Laurent Kabila that dismantled the Mobutu regime and later on joined the RCD rebellion. He was promoted general in 2003 at the outset of the Transition that saw the integration of rebel forces into the Congolese army and police.

Leading the protest against Bisengima’s appointment is the president of the Congolese United for Social Change and the World United for Democracy, Dr Francis Bent Mboyo Ndombo. He told AfricaNews that Bisengima’s crimes as revealed by the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development warrant his withdrawal.

AfricaNews: Your impression of the general security situation in DRC?
Dr Francis Mboyo: It is catastrophic. The country is not secured at all and within 12 years we have lost almost seven million people. We need the help of other countries to assist us maintain law and order in DR Congo.

AfricaNews: What kind of assistance does DRC need?
Dr Mboyo: We need the UN peacekeeping mission MONUC to stay to maintain the relative peace that Congolese are enjoying in the country. Without them the government would continue to supervise the killings of innocent and influential voices in the country. I want to call on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to pressurize president Joseph Kabila to instill democratic principles in his governance. Kabila and his cronies have violated Article 16 of our constitution that protects human life. People are just being killed indiscriminately and the people are afraid to move freely. Kabila must be held responsible for the insecurity in the country.

AfricaNews: Is the police not responsible for law and order?
Dr Mboyo: The police have been crippled and they are not neutral. They are in bed with the government. People cannot even move about at night because of fear of being attacked and killed. Look at the recent gruesome murder of the human rights activist Floribert Chebeya. I think the instruction came from above to kill him. What is Kabila doing about this? He is only interested in denying when there is clear evidence that the killings involve government institutions who are supposed to protect the people. We need an independent and outside institution such as the UN to investigate the killings especially in the case of Chebeya.

AfricaNews: The attorney general says DRC is a sovereign state and won’t allow outside investigators?
Dr Mboyo: He is saying all these because he just wants to cover up and favour the president. If the Kabila administration knows deep down their hearts that they are innocent they should allow independent investigators to come and carry out autopsy on Chebeya’s remains. Look, Kabila should stop engaging in this hide and seek game with Congolese and accept responsibility. During the BP oil spill in Louisiana President Barack Obama was held responsible and he had to act swiftly to save the situation. So once you are the head you should carry that responsibility to protect the interest of your people. Why should Congolese lose their precious lives like chickens? We are about to celebrate our 50th anniversary and we don’t seem to have learned from our past mistakes. Mobuto, Kabila I and II continue to kill people like chickens. The UN and other donor agencies should sanction the government and they would stop all those indiscriminate killings.

AfricaNews: Is the international community sitting unconcerned?
Dr Mboyo: Absolutely. About 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda when the whole world sat unconcerned. Now, within 12 years about seven million have lost their lives in DR Congo. No one seems to be interested in the Congolese story and the perpetrators are walking freely in the country. Why should this happen to my people?

AfricaNews: What do you think about the new police boss - Charles Bisengima?
Dr Mboyo: I am against that and a lot of Congolese are against it too. General Charles Bisengima has killed so many people from South to North of Kivu. He has engaged in 19 crimes according to the Canadian Commission of Inquiry. Why do you make a killer the head of the police service? That would be a continuation of the same old killings by faceless people. We must not allow this to happen. Congolese should stand against that decision. He must be dropped.

AfricaNews: Tell us about the protest march in the USA?
Dr Mboyo: The Congolese United for Social Change and the World United for Democracy of which I happen to be their president are embarking on a march on 17 June in Washington and to the UN offices later in the week to present a petition concerning the appalling situation in the DR Congo. We want to draw the world’s attention to our country and to solicit for help for the country. We are endowed with a lot of natural resources but unfortunately we are among the poorest in the world. This is a shame and we must reverse the trend. Congo needs the world’s assistance and every hand must be ready to help. We want the UN and EU to be on the Kabila administration to protect the opposition during next year’s election so that transparency and peace would prevail.