Skip to main content

DR Congo arrests rebel leader accused of war crimes « Capital News


DR Congo arrests rebel leader accused of war crimes

December 24, 2013 by 

GOMA, Dec 23 – The Congolese army on Monday arrested a rebel leader whose militia has been accused of committing war crimes in the east of the vast Democratic Republic of Congo, sources said.

Kakule Muhima, head of a Mai Mai militia known by his nickname Shetani (Satan), was arrested in Kiwanja, a town in the volatile, resource rich province of North Kivu, Jean Claude Bambanze, civil society leader for the Rutshuru region where Kiwanja is located, said in a statement.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Amuli confirmed the arrest, telling AFP that Muhima would be brought before a military tribunal in the eastern DR Congo's main city Goma, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Kiwanja, "at the first opportunity".

Bambanze said Muhima was arrested "after looting money, telephones and other items of value from five houses" in a part of Kiwanja where the UN mission to the DR Congo has a large base.

The area was retaken by the DR Congo army after it defeated the M23 rebel movement early last month.

Shetani's fighters had repeatedly engaged in territorial battles with the M23 during which they committed "many crimes" including "torture, sexual violence (and killings)", Bambanze said.

The M23, which was suspected of being backed by Rwanda and Uganda and held Goma for 10 days in late 2012, surrendered on November 5 after a major army offensive backed by a UN intervention force.

The region has rich deposits of minerals including gold and coltan, a key component in electronic devices, but is ravaged by rebels and militia who rape and murder with impunity, according to rights groups.

Kinshasa has urged dozens of armed groups still active in the area to lay down their arms or face the same fate as the M23.

Several thousand fighters have complied since then, but Kinshasa pledged that sexual violence, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide would not go unpunished.

Mai Mai groups have a fierce reputation based partly on their belief that they can dodge bullets if they sprinkle themselves with sacred water before battle.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[Rwanda Forum] Kigali-Kisangani: Muhoozi's bellicose tweets reignite regional tensions.

"My father, General Yoweri Museveni, told me a few months ago that I must turn the UPDF into a 'killing machine.' That is what we are working on." https://www.therwandan.com/kigali-kisangani-muhoozis-bellicose-tweets-reignite-regional-tensions/ Kigali-Kisangani: Muhoozi's bellicose tweets reignite regional tensions March 23, 2025 General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, commander of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and son of President Yoweri Museveni, has once again shaken the regional diplomatic and military landscape with a series of controversial tweets. These posts, shared via his X account, come just after he completed an official visit to Kigali, where he was warmly received by the Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Defence Force, General Mubarakh Muganga, and personally thanked President Paul Kagame for his hospitality. In one of his most striking tweets, Muhoozi stated: "Within a week, either the M...
Post a Comment
Read more

[AFRICAFORUM] Tr : [hinterland1] Tr : L'OCCUPATION RWANDAISE EN MARCHE

  ----- Mail transféré ----- De : Mpania Jean <drjeanmpania@yahoo.fr> À : Hinterland <hinterland1@yahoogroupes.fr> Envoyé le : Mercredi 26 février 2014 17h13 Objet : [hinterland1] Tr : L'OCCUPATION RWANDAISE EN MARCHE   Le Mercredi 26 février 2014 9h56, congokdp <congokdp@gmail.com> a écrit : L'OCCUPATION RWANDAISE EN MARCHE :   Voici comment les institutions et tout le système de sécurité de la RDC sont sous contrôle du Rwanda et les officiels congolais infiltrés par des «hirondelles» rwandaises! L'OCCUPATION RWANDAISE EN MARCHE :  Voici comment les institutions et tout le système de sécurité de la RDC sont sous contrôle du Rwanda et les officiels congolais infiltrés par des «hirondelles» rwandaises! Le processus d'occupation de la RDC par le lobby tutsi rwandais passe par le...
1 comment
Read more

[haguruka.com] Fw: *DHR* New Vision, Uganda @Gen Fred Rwigyema's untold story.

  On Sunday, 22 November 2015, 18:52, "Jean Bosco Sibomana sibomanaxyz999@gmail.com [Democracy_Human_Rights]" <Democracy_Human_Rights@yahoogroupes.fr> wrote:   Gen Fred Rwigyemas untold story By Muwonge Magembe The death of Gen. Aronda Nyakairima on September 12; eclipsed the 25th year death memorial of Maj. Gen. Fred Rwigyema which is commemorated every October. Rwigyema died strangely in October, 1990, after launching a military invasion against President Juvenal Habyarimana. Before he left for Rwanda, Rwigyema parked a coffee brown Mercedes Benz (G-Class) near the residence of then special administrator for Mbarara district, Henry Rwigyemera. Rwigyema started living in Uganda when he was only three years following his parents' relocation from Mukiranze village, Kamonyi district, Rwanda to Nshungerezi refuge camp, Ankole and Kahungye, Toro. Their relocation was motiv...
Post a Comment
Read more