DRC: Government implements death penalty to combat youth gang phenomenon

DRC youth gang offenders heading to juvenile facilities. Screenshot from the video “DRC: Kinshasa Gangs| ARTE Report” from the ARTE YouTube Channel. Fair use.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the proliferation of criminal youth gangs is at an all-time high. The government has thereby made the death penalty part of its strategy to combat urban violence.

In this country, these youth gangs are known as “Kulunas” or “urban bandits.” This term refers to youths aged between 15 and 30 who form armed gangs that threaten, extort, mutilate, and sometimes kill Congolese citizens.

Who are the Kulunas?

In DRC, youth gangs proliferated during the third decade of former president Mobuto Sese Seko’s regime (1965–1997) in the 1990s. It began with unemployed youths from rural areas with no income, hoping to make a living in urban areas.

However, due to the civil war that began after Mobuto Sese Seko’s death, gangs have been present in most districts of Kinshasa, the country’s capital, where there are 16 million citizens, since the early 2000s. In May 2021, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) published the report “Criminals or Vigilantes? The Kuluna, Gangs of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” highlighting their impact and influence on Congolese society:

Des banlieues de Kinshasa où la police n’osait pas s’aventurer, les gangs ont progressivement investi les quartiers centraux ainsi que les camps militaires et policiers, recrutant même leurs membres parmi les enfants d’officiers… les enfants de la Police nationale congolaise sont tous des Kuluna.

(…)à l’exception de Gombe au centre-ville où se trouvent les ministères et les ambassades, les gangs Kuluna sont présents partout dans la capitale – en plus grand nombre cependant dans les secteurs pauvres/bidonvilles (Lingwala, Barumbu) et dans les quartiers centraux défavorisés.

The gangs have gradually moved from the suburban areas, where the police didn’t dare to venture, to central districts and military and police camps. They now even recruit their members among the children of army and police officers. The children of the Congolese National Police are all Kulunas.

(…) Besides Gombe, in the central district where the government ministries and embassies are located, the Kuluna gangs are present throughout the capital. However, the gangs are generally found in poverty-stricken neighborhoods/slums (Lingwala, Barumbu) and central poverty-stricken districts.

Most of these youths have similar backgrounds. They are often unemployed, take drugs, and have been abandoned by their families. Accustomed to crime-related violent lifestyles, some political parties also employ them. According to the GI-TOC report, Kulunas are particularly useful during election periods.

For a small fee, they often participate in various acts of violence:

Lors des élections de 2006, quand les forces soutenant Joseph Kabila et Jean-Pierre Bemba, adversaires politiques, se sont affrontées, les factions Bemba avaient engagé des Kuluna comme combattants, leur donnant accès à des armes à feu. (…)

Pendant les élections de 2011, les Kuluna ont été recrutés par le parti politique du président sortant, Joseph Kabila, pour semer la terreur parmi les Kinois et attaquer les rassemblements politiques de l’opposition. (…)

De même, entre 2016 et 2018, à l’occasion d’une campagne politique de l’opposition visant à forcer le président Kabila à organiser des élections, les gangs ont été mobilisés par le parti au pouvoir et par la police anti-émeute, qui les ont utilisés comme auxiliaires.

During the 2006 elections, when the forces supporting rival candidates Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba clashed, Bemba factions hired Kulunas as fighters, giving them access to firearms. (…)

During the 2011 elections, the political party of the incumbent president, Kabila, recruited Kulunas to terrorize the Kinshasa people and attack opposition political rallies. (…)

Similarly, between 2016 and 2018, during a political campaign by the opposition to force President Kabila to hold elections, the ruling party and anti-riot police mobilized the gangs as auxiliaries.

Given the public threat they pose, other politicians have conducted various operations to bring them down or put them out of action. However, all efforts have failed. We must note that the national police are often complicit with these groups.

Is the death penalty the solution?

Since the colonial era, the death penalty has been passed and implemented in DRC. Articles 5 and 6 of the penal code stipulate:

Art 5: Les peines applicables aux infractions sont : la mort ; les travaux forcés; la servitude pénale; (…)

Art 6 : Le condamné à mort est exécuté suivant le mode déterminé par le Président de la République.

Art 5: The penalties for offenses are death, forced labor, penal servitude (…)

Art 6: The President of the Republic will designate the method of execution for the person condemned to death.

However, there has been a moratorium on the death penalty in this country since 2003. The penalty has been imposed but is no longer carried out. In March 2024, Rose Mutombo, the former minister of justice, announced the lifting of this moratorium in a memorandum to:

(…) débarrasser l’armée congolaise d’une part des traîtres et d'endiguer la recrudescence d’actes de terrorisme et de banditisme urbain entraînant mort d’hommes d’autres part.

(…) rid the Congolese army of traitors on the one hand and curb the resurgence of acts of urban terrorism resulting in deaths on the other.

Constant Mutamba, appointed as the new Minister of Justice in May 2024, remains uncompromising on the gangs’ fate. In a statement that Radio Okapi broadcast on December 3, 2024, he said:

Nous allons exécuter [appliquer]  la peine de mort contre les Kulunas (gangsters urbains). La commission va lancer l’organisation des procès en flagrance contre tous les Kulunas. Tous ceux qui seront attrapés, jugés et condamnés. Ils seront tous condamnés pour terrorisme, parce les actes qu’ils posent relèvent tout simplement du terrorisme, et seront punis de la peine de mort.

We will carry out the death penalty against the Kulunas (urban gangsters). The commission will hold trials against all Kulunas. Those caught will be tried and convicted. They will be convicted of terrorism, as the acts they commit are quite simply terrorism, and will be punished by death.

Since January 2025, almost 300 Kulunas have stood trial, with 127 reportedly sentenced to death. The minister defended himself to the press. In a BBC Afrique (BBC Africa) article, he said:

La plupart de ces jeunes sont des récidivistes qui ont déjà fait à plusieurs reprises la prison. Mais dès qu'ils sortent, ils recommencent les actes de grand banditisme en s'attaquant aux honnêtes citoyens. C'est lorsque dépassées par la situation que les autorités congolaises ont lancé l'opération « Ndobo » (l'hameçon). C'est une opération destinée à juguler le grand banditisme urbain à Kinshasa et dans les autres grandes villes du pays.

Most of these youths are repeat offenders and have already served several prison sentences. However, once they get out, they resume their criminal activities, attacking honest citizens. When the situation overwhelmed the Congolese authorities, they launched Operation “Hook.” This operation was designed to curb urban criminal activity in Kinshasa and other major cities.

According to the minister, the decision to execute the youths has already been made. However, on January 18, 2025, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, released a statement contradicting this. The Intelligency account on X shared the president’s statement:

#DRC 🇨🇩 Death Penalty | President #FélixTshisekedi made a statement stating that no #kulunas had been executed so far.

This statement contradicts the Minister of Justice @ConstantMutamba’s comments, who announced they were already on their “third wave of executions.” Although this announcement had received a certain degree of public support … the president stressed his desire to “give careful consideration to the matter moving forward,”emphasizing the need for a responsible approach that complies with applicable laws …

pic.twitter.com/u966vCSNBM

— intelligency (@Intelligency225) January 18, 2025

Strong online reactions

Reactions from both sides of the argument have flooded the Congolese web. Close relatives of some Kuluna atrocity victims believe the execution of these youth gangs is justified. Such was the case for Altesse Mulamba, who wrote on X:

Justice in dealing with the Kulunas — A call to action to protect our citizens:

A young brother of mine is currently in the emergency room. Last night, the Kulunas mutilated his fingers with shocking brutality. This incident is one of many examples of the insecurity consuming our society, destroying families, and plunging our communities into terror.

We must never use human rights as a pretext to protect those who undermine the fundamental rights of others. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) requires countries to ensure the security and dignity of their citizens:

Article 6: Every human has an inherent right to life, and countries must protect it. With their barbaric acts, the Kulunas deprive their victims of this fundamental right.

Under the principle of national sovereignty, our country and its judicial system have the authority to determine and enforce appropriate sanctions in compliance with international standards.

In DRC, Kuluna acts are not simple offenses. These are serious crimes that undermine collective security and cause irreparable trauma. In this context, although controversial, according to Article 6 of the ICCPR, the death penalty is a legitimate response to root out criminals once and for all and protect the public.

Most importantly, let’s not forget that the victims’ families also have a right to justice commensurate with the seriousness of the crime committed.

Altesse Mulamba || La République

However, some also question the purpose of this decision, like Africa Fact Viral:

The Kulunas have committed atrocious crimes, but is killing them really the solution? By taking their lives, how are we any different from them? Isn’t justice and rehabilitation better than revenge? #Justice #Paix #Africa #DRC #Congo #Congolese pic.twitter.com/Em8QSwAl6j

— Africa Fact Viral 🆒 (@africafactviral) January 13, 2025

The comments under this post illustrate some people’s anger towards the Kulunas.

In a BBC Afrique interview, Me Peter Ngomo Milambo, a lawyer at the Kinshasa Court of Appeal, stated:

(…)ces jeunes seront exécutés. Sinon ce sera une grave atteinte aux droits de l'homme. (…)c'est une manière pour les autorités du pays de leur faire peur, vu les crimes et autres atrocités que commettent ces jeunes dans les grandes villes du pays.

(…) These youths will be executed. Otherwise, it will be a human rights violation. (…) Given the crimes and other atrocities these youths have committed in the country’s major cities, this will be a way for the authorities to teach them a lesson.

Human rights NGOs have also stepped in. Amnesty International calls on the authorities to stop transferring detainees to execution zones. Sarah Jackson, the Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, told BBC Afrique:

L'annonce de ces transferts est absolument consternante. Nous craignons des exécutions imminentes, dans un contexte de manque d'informations fiables sur le statut des condamnés.

The transfer announcement is utterly deplorable. Due to a lack of reliable information on the current status of those convicted, we fear their imminent execution.

In October 2024, the organization called on this country to overturn its death penalty.

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