Crisis in Lubumbashi: Arrests of Street Children
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Crisis in Lubumbashi: Arrests of Street Children

  • kimbilious
  • 3 days ago
  • 2 min read
Street children near the center of Lubumbashi. The coal is either for selling or for burning for warmth.
Street children near the center of Lubumbashi. The coal is either for selling or for burning for warmth.

Radio Okapi is reporting waves of arrests of street children in Lubumbashi. For those unfamiliar with Radio Okapi, it is a joint effort by the United Nations and the Swiss NGO Fondation Hirondelle to provide reliable news reporting across the DR Congo. It has a very large audience. According to Radio Okapi, the agents conducting the arrests claim they are fighting urban crime during end-of-year festivities, but the ground truth tells otherwise. There is brutality involved and those being arrested do not fit the mold of urban criminals.


The number of street children at the Kimbilio Day Center has spiked as the arrests have proceeded, as the children seek safe haven. Kimbilio is experiencing up to a doubling of numbers on any given day. A group of police officers visited the Day Center to prevent children from entering and to arrest them. We are profoundly grateful to Kimbilio's carers who successfully blocked the effort, insisting that the children were under Kimbilio's care.


For its part, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) condemns these arrests, which it describes as arbitrary. CNDH is the Congolese state's primary advisor on human rights matters, and it is calling on the government to put an end to the arrests, which it considers abusive. The National Police leadership have had no comment.


There is no sign that the increasing number of children on the streets will end any time soon. The cause of it could be the M23 activity to the north driving children to flee to Lubumbashi, or it could be the rising costs of food that is leaving parents unable to feed their children. In light of the current tragedy, the Kimbilio Day Center needs more funds. Your donations are critical at this time for the Day Center to have the capacity to help as many children as possible.


Thank you, as always, for your support. Readers of French can read the Radio Okapi report here.







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