In a report released this month, the organization Ius Stella denounces the alarming consequences of Operation Ndobo, launched in December 2024 by the Congolese Ministry of the Interior. Officially aimed at combating urban crime and the so-called “Kuluna” phenomenon, the operation quickly turned into a campaign of mass arrests, disproportionately targeting street-involved youth, including minors.
Since the lifting of the moratorium on executions in March 2024, the Democratic Republic of Congo has returned to practices of extreme gravity, undermining the most fundamental principles of justice. Ius Stella’s report highlights systematic violations of the right to a fair trial: civilians tried before military courts, lack of legal representation, collective sentencing, manipulation of minors’ ages, and the transfer of detainees to remote prisons before final judgment.
Several documented cases in the report illustrate this downward spiral, including that of Dieumerci Ndombasi Kiala, a choir singer arrested in December 2024 without apparent cause and tried without legal counsel within five days. He was transferred to Angenga military prison in the Mongala province, where detention conditions now threaten his life. Another case is that of Samuel, a 17-year-old orphan living on the streets, arrested for “vagrancy” and later charged with “terrorism” without evidence. He was only acquitted after the intervention of a lawyer appointed by the NGO “Les Anges Écoliers”, whose reintegration program he was enrolled in.
All detainees, including those not sentenced to death, are being held in inhuman and degrading conditions: extreme overcrowding, lack of food, drinking water, and medical care, exposure to violence, and complete isolation. Some, although not formally sentenced to death, may die in detention. This situation would amount to extrajudicial executions.
Ius Stella urgently calls on the Congolese authorities to immediately suspend all scheduled executions, to review all convictions handed down under Operation Ndobo, and to ensure that all detainees have effective access to legal defense. The organization also urges urgent improvements in detention conditions and strengthened protections for minors, in line with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s national and international obligations.
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You can download the full report here.