Trouble In Kinshasa

Hey all,

Just thought that I would let everyone know about several robberies and possibly two murders that have occurred here in Kinshasa recently.

            Last weekend, a friend of mine named John was robbed heading back to his apartment in a part of Kinshasa called Macampagne (sic). John is here working for an NGO and was driving back home after an evening out. He was stopped by three “policemen” armed with AK47s, who then proceeded to place rocks beneath the wheels of his car so he couldn’t drive away. The men then whisked John out of the car, searched and took all of his possessions (wallet, driver’s license, even his belt). Next they searched the inside of his car, taking all of the documents in the glove compartment, along with his iPod. Upset that they didn’t find enough money on John, they prepared to search the trunk (which contained John’s laptop). Instinctively, John told them about some additional Congolese Francs that he had in the ashtray inside the car, peacefully handed over his money, and then got back into the car slowly believing that the soldiers would not stop him.  John then proceeded to move the car forward, hitting one of the rocks, having forgotten they were there.  Again, after feeling that the soldiers would not take action against him, he backed up and drove slowly around the rocks toward his destination.  Needless to say, John has been a bit distraught for the past few days as he now totally unable to even use his car until he gets new documents (lest he get arrested legally and has his car taken away, jailed, or both. Unable to report this incident to the police, John has reported it to both the US Embassy and the MONUC security unit.

The same area is a known “hotspot” on the MONUC watch list, and it is highly recommended that all UN staffers avoid the area. Still though, many of those same staffers have their homes, apartments or hotels there, and one has to wonder what their thoughts are at this time. Robberies occur with an ever increasing frequency, and usually not a week goes by where someone fails to recount some event or another. Even Jarko, the Chief of the GIS Unit, and Louis, the IT guru live there. John, however, has since moved to a new place – whether it’s any safer remains to be seen.

This past weekend, in the same vicinity where John was robbed, for sure one man was murdered, and possibly two. I’m not sure of all of the details, but Saturday saw the murder of a politician on the Kinshasa city council – the Vice President I believe. Sunday saw an acquaintance of former Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba’s supposedly killed in the exact same area, though I cannot confirm it.

Needless to say, things appear to be heating up a bit here in Kinshasa. Recent security reports discuss the possibility of demonstrations over rising food and gasoline costs. Moreover, some UN staffers are concerned that if events turn worse, many of the recent strides forward will be for naught.

While I don’t live in the area of concern, I am only about 15 minutes away by car from the hotel. That area is even closer to the MONUC CongoBat compound where I work each day. One should never leave their guard down here in Africa for too long.

 

Tim

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