After launching its legal aid program in Kinshasa in 2020, Ius Stella is officially expanding its activities to Kangbayi Prison in Beni, North Kivu province. The initiative began with the organization of free legal consultations for women currently in detention.
A local team of five volunteer lawyers visited the prison to assess the legal situation of the female detainees. Of the 74 women currently incarcerated, 54 have already received their first free legal consultation.
“We saw what happened in Kinshasa during the jailbreak attempt. We saw what happened in Goma after the M23 takeover. In every crisis, it is always women and children who pay the highest price.
In Beni, we chose to act before the irreparable happens again. So that innocent women are no longer locked up, forgotten, and sacrificed in silence,” said Jessica Ilunga, founder of Ius Stella.
This program aims to address the systemic barriers that limit incarcerated women’s access to legal support, a population often neglected due to the complexity of legal procedures and a lack of resources. Through these free consultations, Ius Stella provides personalized legal assistance to uphold the rights of detained women and help them find appropriate legal solutions.
Legal support is provided by a network of qualified lawyers from the North Kivu Bar Association and is designed to:
- Help detainees better understand their rights and the legal process;
- Identify cases of arbitrary or unlawful detention;
- Explore alternatives to incarceration, especially for women detained with their children;
- Represent women during their court hearings.
This initiative is part of a broader effort to ensure fair and accessible justice within the country’s prisons, where women face particularly harsh conditions. Ius Stella seeks to reduce inequalities and discrimination in the criminal justice system and ensure that every woman, regardless of her circumstances, has the right to defend herself before the law.
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About Ius Stella
Ius Stella is a non-profit organization transforming the way justice is rendered, measured, and experienced. We started our work in the Democratic Republic of Congo where we stand with victims of systemic injustices—those whose rights have been violated, whose humanity has been denied, and whose voices too often go unheard. Our work challenges traditional repressive systems and paves the way for a new model of justice: one that is transparent, effective, and people-centered.