DRC crisis: Gen Sikabwe’s appointment escalates human rights violation

Author: Moses Kayinamura

• 2023-11-22 05:30:00

Lt Gen Fall Sikabwe

On November 7, Lt Gen Fall Sikabwe was appointed coordinator of military operations in the province of North Kivu. His appointment reignited a history narrative of human rights abuses and corruption in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The man also happens to be the commander of the land forces. 

In 2015, the UN suspended support for FARDC operations due to the involvement of accused generals, including Gen Sikabwe, in serious human rights violations. His appointment in South Kivu in 2015 led to the temporary cessation of cooperation with UN peacekeepers.

Despite the international community's outcry, the Congolese government stood firm, refusing to replace the high-ranking officials.

In December 2019, Sikabwe’s name appeared in yet another corruption scandal. At the heart of the dispute was $100,000 which was to be paid to FARDC soldiers fighting against the ADF terrorists and the armed groups in Beni. Soldiers waited for their pay to no avail, yet Sikambwe was in charge of the money.

Sikabwe’s name has surfaced not only in the context of human rights abuses but also in embezzlement cases. In March 2020, Sikabwe went before a disciplinary board on suspicion of embezzlement of bonuses. 

Despite, all the facts about the General, Kinshasa still appointed him to lead operations in the volatile east of the country.

This casts doubts on the intentions and the future of his mission in the area that has already been fractured with human rights violations, and a deep insecurity crisis.

For the past decades, North Kivu has been marred with arbitrary arrests of the Congolese Tutsi, as well as persecution, killings and hate speech against this community.

Sikabwe’s appointment to a commanding role in the region was cause for alarm. It remains unclear how, for example, the UN Mission (MONUSCO) will operate under the guidance of someone blacklisted for human rights violations.

When he took power in 2018, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi's number one priority was to fight against corruption, and restore order within the armed forces, FARDC. Sikabwe’s appointment not only questions Tshisekedi’s leadership’s intentions but also the extent of the government's commitment to addressing human rights violations and corruption.

Sikabwe’s appointment is evidence enough to the fact that the time to end impunity in the Congolese army will not come soon. Five years after Tshisekedi’s 2018 stolen election, there is no hope for positive change.