The toll of the tragic incidents of October 27 in Minembwe has now been established. In our denunciation published on [Campaign for Peace DRC]( https://www.campaignforpeacedrc.com/post/d%C3%A9nonciation-des-exactions-des-fardc-contre-la-communaut%C3%A9-banyamulenge ), we had warned of the terror sown by the 21st infantry brigade of the FARDC and reported a provisional toll of the exactions. Today, the facts are proven: six civilian women were savagely raped by soldiers of this brigade, according to the testimony of the president of the women's association of the region. Some victims suffered gang rapes of extreme brutality, requiring their hospitalization. The soldiers responsible also looted the victims' property, taking their money and phones, further aggravating their situation of vulnerability.
These heinous acts come on top of other atrocities committed on the same day against the people of Minembwe, including the slaughter of livestock – a further blow to the already fragile livelihoods of this community. A few days earlier, on 12 October, an eight-year-old girl was also the victim of a horrific rape perpetrated by a soldier from the same brigade, sending shockwaves throughout Minembwe. This tragedy follows closely on the heels of the case documented on 15 October 2024, which we also denounced on our website. Despite the cries of alarm raised by victims and defenders of their rights, the authorities remain passive and continue to keep this brigade in place, leaving the local population defenseless in the face of this systematic violence.
These practices sadly recall a tradition of violence and impunity within the FARDC, inherited from the time of Mobutu until today, where crimes are often hushed up or attributed to other groups. Worse still, some external actors, such as the Cameroonian writer Charles Onana, fuel disinformation by constructing misleading narratives that slander the victims and exonerate the perpetrators of their acts. This complicit silence even includes prestigious voices such as that of Denis Mukwege, Nobel Peace Prize winner, who prefers to remain silent, thus contributing to inflating the statistics of violence to place the responsibility on the "Rwandans". This sordid political game further tears open the wounds of the victims in the DRC, in particular those of the Banyamulenge community, whose suffering is systematically ignored or instrumentalized.
How long will the people of Minembwe be condemned to live this endless nightmare?
October 30, 2024
Paul Kabudogo Rugaba
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