In October two folks had been convicted to 5 years in jail in reference to the killing of opposition member Dido Kakisingi at a march in Kindu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kakisingi, a lawyer and youth coordinator of political occasion Ensemble Pour la République (Ensemble) within the province of Maniema was killed throughout clashes at a political march within the province’s capital on November 28, 2023.
Kakisingi, together with supporters of the political occasion Ensemble, was attending in assist of opposition candidate, Moise Katumbi forward of presidential elections.
However the rally didn’t go as deliberate – most tragically for Kakisingi.
Lower than a month after Kakisingi died, incumbent Félix Tshisekedi gained the election amid reviews of repression and arrests of rival politicians and violence in opposition to demonstrators and journalists.
The conviction of two suspects comes as supporters and household of Kakisingi proceed to hunt justice for his killing. These members of the family say at the very least 14 different folks concerned within the violence needs to be arrested and questioned by police.
Numerous deceptive reviews have unfold concerning the circumstances of Kakisingi’s killing.
With efforts at attaining justice ongoing, Bellingcat appeared again on the accessible open supply proof to see what it exhibits about how precisely the march unfolded.
Primary Venue for Political Rallies Closed Forward of the Opposition’s Arrival
It had lengthy been frequent for political rallies to be held in central Kindu on the Tribune Centrale de Kindu, a big lined space situated on one of many metropolis’s predominant roads.
As an illustration President Tshisekedi held an election rally there on November 23, 2023, a number of days previous to the deadly march.
Nevertheless, native media reported that Kindu’s mayor briefly closed the Tribune Centrale de Kindu for repairs days earlier than two opposition candidates had been scheduled to carry rallies there. Opposition figures complained that the choice was politically motivated.
Footage posted by Ensemble confirmed presidential candidate and occasion chief Katumbi touchdown at Kindu Airport by personal jet, a Dassault Falcon 900.
FlightRadar confirmed the jet touchdown in Kindu at 10:29 UTC (12:29 CAT, as Kindu is within the Central Africa Time zone, two hours forward of UTC).
Opposition chief Katumbi, carrying a particular blue fedora, is seen descending from the jet.
Supporters met him on the airport and started the march, touring south out of the airport down Joseph Kabila Boulevard, a large road with a particular line of timber within the heart. In some unspecified time in the future, Kakisingi joined the procession, although it’s not attainable to find out from the accessible open supply proof if this was on the airport or alongside Joseph Kabila Boulevard.
The March Begins and Kakisingi is Killed
Lower than three kilometres from the airport, between 1:00 and a couple of:00 pm native time, and roughly 60 metres from the Joseph Kabila monument (-2.939020, 25.924275), violence broke out throughout the march.
Footage from this space exhibits Kakisingi mendacity in blood on the road, his shirt has been torn and is dirtied.
Folks encompass him, some are filming. A large quantity of blood has pooled beneath him, however his place within the video obscures the harm (Warning: very graphic picture).
It’s attainable that the killing of Kakisingi prompted folks to begin fleeing, and was the primary time violence broke out, however the sequence of occasions stays unclear because the movies posted by the opposition Ensemble are usually not in chronological order.
The place did Kakisingi Die?
We geolocated the situation of his physique right here -2.939462, 25.924047 by matching the homes seen within the background of the footage.
A central line of timber and the place and form of close by roofs helped to find out the place of his physique.
Rival Supporters Meet because the March Continues
It’s unknown why the march didn’t cease after Kakisingi’s dying. Following the incident the march splits, with the entrance of the gang persevering with, and folks additional again lingering round Kakisingi’s physique or dispersing. Many of the crowd seems to proceed to maneuver south alongside Joseph Kabila Boulevard.
In a video posted on X, folks carrying clothes with photos of DRC President Tshisekedi might be seen gathering additional alongside the street.
(the occasion of incumbent President Tshisekedi). Inexperienced arrow a part of unique video and never added by Bellingcat. Credit score: X.
Some people decide up rocks and seem to await the arrival of Katumbi’s march because it slowly proceeds. Numerous folks, together with a person carrying a T-shirt that includes Tshisekedi, will also be seen choosing up and throwing rocks as opposition figures strategy.
The 2 teams finally change into intermixed on the road (seen at 1:21 in this video uploaded by MaishaRDC). Rival flags – one among Ensemble and one among Tshisekedi’s occasion UDPS might be seen on reverse sides of the street round this time as clashes proceed. Audio from the scene seems to seize the sound of rocks bouncing off objects on the street.
We couldn’t affirm precisely when the MaishaRDC video was filmed, however the location is roughly 135 metres south of the place Kakisingi’s lifeless physique was pictured. The gang is transferring in the identical course that the march was heading, suggesting it was filmed after Kakisingi’s dying (-2.94083, 25.92372).
The next picture exhibits the place of the videographer:
Within the movies, individuals are operating, carrying sticks, and throwing rocks.
Pictures Fired by Safety Forces
When the march was greater than 500m from the Joseph Kabila statue pictures had been fired. We geolocated this footage this footage right here (-2.94372, 25.92365).
The identical pictures might be heard in two completely different recordings. This footage from 00:52 to 00:57 exhibits protesters fleeing amid gunshots (the footage was filmed and edited by the opposition and incorporates some soar cuts, which implies it’s not a steady stream).
There’s a second video displaying one other perspective of the identical second.
Numerous what look like the Police Nationale Congolaise (Congolese Nationwide Police, or PNC) might be seen holding firearms and searching in direction of the marchers. A number of pictures will also be heard in shut proximity to the marchers, though it’s not clear precisely the place the pictures are coming from.
Amid the gunshots, Katumbi marchers, accompanied by autos that decelerate to present them cowl, flip left onto Avenue Lufunhula.
A third video, displaying the identical intersection however from a unique viewpoint (word that this video is mirrored), appears to point out each the gunshots and Katumbi’s persevering with presence on the march. Katumbi and his safety guards look like trying in direction of the course of gunshots within the footage.
Protest Ends
Ultimately, the marchers return to Avenue Joseph Kabila, passing in entrance of the Palais De Justice De Kindu (-2.947390, 25.924925).
It concluded at Place Matata Ponyo also called Place Mapon (-2.96263, 25.91809). The march probably lined roughly 6.5 kilometres in complete, though no video emerged throughout their detour on Avenue Lufunhula – the marchers are solely seen once more after they return to Avenue Joseph Kabila. At Place Mapon, Katumbi then gave a speech, returned to the airport, and flew to his subsequent engagement.
The Aftermath
After the march, various theories unfold about how Kakisingi died.
The shortage of readability about how precisely he died led to hypothesis on-line. The authorities have nonetheless not launched particulars of Kakisingi’s post-mortem, so it’s nonetheless but to be confirmed whether or not he died by gunfire, rocks or a mix. On this vacuum of data some pro-Rwanda teams claimed that President Tshisekedi ordered the police to shoot Kakisingi. Though we are able to see that supporters of Tshisekedi clashed with opposition members on the day of the march, together with throwing rocks, we couldn’t affirm precisely who was accountable for his killing.
Within the days after the incident, Kakisingi’s fellow attorneys marched in protest, and his funeral was held on December 1 with the opposition chief in attendance.
Within the months after, Katumbi misplaced the presidential election to the incumbent Tshisekedi.
On January 16, 2024, 4 males had been arrested in relation to the dying of Kakisingi. On the time, solely one of many suspects was named within the press. His arrest was filmed.
Olembo Kipalamoto and one other man, Ismael Munanga, had been convicted of homicide on October 30, 2024, as reported by Agence Congolaise de Presse, and sentenced to 5 years in jail.
Advocates for the household are nonetheless demanding the questioning of 14 different suspects, with native media reporting that arrest warrants had been issued for these males.
Manon McGuigan contributed translation and analysis to this piece.
Riccardo, Sarah, and Manon are founding members of CongoEye, a gaggle based by way of Bellingcat’s Discord Server. CongoEye is devoted to analyzing occasions within the Democratic Republic of Congo utilizing open-source analysis methodologies. Study extra about CongoEye at Bluesky [@congoeye.com] and Medium [https://medium.com/@congoeye].
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