CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Congo (RDC) |
PEACE
Fears and concerns
In September 2002, the governments of Congo RDC, Congo-Brazzaville and the International Organization for Migrations (IOM) signed in Brazzaville, a tripartite agreement concerning the voluntary repatriation to Kinshasa of the 4,000 soldiers belonging to the Special Presidential Division (DSP), who had taken refuge in Brazzaville, following the fall of President Mobutu on 17 May 1997.
This agreement ended five years of exile for sections of the DSP who were now simply twiddling their thumbs. According to various sources, they had fought in Congo-Brazza with those soldiers supporting President Sassou Nguesso, against the Kolelas militia of former President Pascal Lissouba. A lot was talked about in Kinshasa vis à vis the DSP soldiers in Congo-Brazza, some things more incredible than others. It was said for example, that they had threatened to cross the River Congo into Kinshasa to drive out President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. There’s also serious suspicion that they may have had a hand in his murder. All this has caused a certain amount of tension between the capitals of the two Congos.
That’s why many people in Kinshasa are questioning the wisdom of allowing the DSP to return. They wonder if the DSP soldiers are going to enter Kinshasa with their weapons; or will they be reinstated in the national army and if so, what will be their attitude. Others are worrying about their reintegration among the people who still have bitter memories of the DSP‘s atrocities during the period of Mobutu’s dictatorship.
The DSP’s atrocities
The people can’t forget the DSP‘s ultimate crime — the murder of General Mahele Bokungu, Mobutu’s last Defence Minister and Chief-of-the-General Staff of the Zairian Armed Forces. He was killed during the night of 16-17 May 1997. He paid with his life for having prevented the blood bath in which the DSP wanted to drown Kinshasa before they escaped across the river. He’s honoured by the whole population as a national hero.
The DSP soldiers were in Mobutu’s service. They ensured his personal safety. They were his private militia and were used by Mobutu as his tool for repressing the population. Most DSP soldiers belonged to Mobutu’s Ngbandi tribe. The DSP was the best-equipped unit in the army; the best paid and scandalously nurtured. Their arrogance vis-a-vis the other soldiers was without precedence and they committed any number of atrocities among the population.
Arbitrary arrests and summary executions of people designated as being «anti-Mobutu», were their work. In 1991 and 1993, Congo was systematically plundered and the country’s economy destroyed. The DSP planned and carried out this action. General Mahele and his close colleagues were distressed by what was taking place and took immediate action against undisciplined DSP members. This displeased their commander, General Nzimbi, who promised to avenge his men.
Going home
Now the agreement’s been signed with Congo-Brazza, many DSP soldiers have only one thought — to get back home as soon as possible. And the Kinshasa government has the duty to guarantee their return. The responsibility for their repatriation and reintegration has been entrusted by the Kinshasa and Brazzaville governments to the IOM.
One thing’s sure. The DSP‘s return is a major headache for Congo RDC‘s transition government, because those supporters of former President Mobutu who’ve already returned en masse and who are hell-bent on regaining their former positions, are counting on the DSP for possible support.
Congo’s social stability is also threatened by DSP‘s return, because the people are not prepared to accept these notorious soldiers. In spite of that, some elements of the DSP have already started to slip back into Congo RDC.