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Congolese Still Struggle to Understand ICC
Outreach work in DRC attempts to explain justice process in The Hague.
By Héritier Maila - International Justice - ICC
ACR Issue 278,
23 Nov 10
Trials involving alleged Congolese militia leaders have been ongoing at the Inte
rnational Criminal Court, ICC, for nearly two years, but understanding of how th
e court works still remains low in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.
The trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba, a Congolese politician indicted for war crimes i
n the Central African Republic, CAR, opened this week. The case of Congolese mil
itia leader Thomas Lubanga began in January 2009, and the trials of alleged Cong
olese warlords Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngudjolo are still ongoing.
Yet many people in DRC have exaggerated expectations of the court, and place too
much hope in its capacity to redress some of the many injustices in their count
ry.
In particular, talking to local people in Lubumbashi reveals a large disconnect
between their perception of the ICC and the realities of what it can deliver.
“The ICC should expand its scope,” Christian Kabangu said. “We appreciate the work alr
eady done by this court to arrest some criminals, but there are others [whom the
court should also prosecute].
“Not just those who kill but also those who take the property of others, especiall
y houses. These people have money and they bribe judges to obtain [favourable] j
udgements. How can we trust our local courts in these matters? Why can’t the ICC a
lso deal with such cases?”
Moreover, those who have had loved ones murdered are confused about why the ICC
has not taken an interest in their cases.
Francoise Mandala says that Kyungu Mutanga Gideon, a Mai-Mai militia leader, was
responsible for the deaths of several of his family members.
Although Gideon has since been convicted by a Katanga military court of crimes a
gainst humanity, Mandala says that he does not have any faith in the ability of
the DRC’s prison system to keep him behind bars.
“I wonder why the ICC is not interested in Gideon, when he has killed so many peop
le,” Mandala said. “I do not have any faith in our justice system. I really want to
see Gideon spend his life in prison, but even in prison he is having a comfortab
le life, since he has money. We hear that, even in jail, he still has people who
work for him.”
Mandala also says that he would have liked the ICC to take on Gideon’s case for an
other reason. The ICC – through the Trust Fund for Victims, TFV – offers compensatio
n for those affected by the crimes it is investigating. The Congolese government
does not.
Adolphe Musanga, whose brother was allegedly shot by a police officer during a d
emonstration in November 2009, feels that the ICC should widen its scope of inve
stigations in the DRC.
“Although the officer who shot him has been identified, the trial has still not st
arted,” he said. “We have already filed a complaint with the military prosecutor of
Lubumbashi... that is why I want the ICC to take action in this country to end i
mpunity.”
The ICC has in the past come under fire from NGOs, lawyers and journalists for n
ot doing enough to inform those affected by war crimes about its goals and the p
rogress of investigations and trials. Activists have warned that this lack of un
derstanding and awareness means victims will have little faith in the court.
(See ICC Seen as Struggling to Communicate http://iwpr.net/report-news/icc-seen-
struggling-communicate)
Alian Kyalwe, a lawyer, agrees that there is a worrying level of misapprehension
in DRC about the court’s aims. For instance, people tend not to understand that t
he court does not have the resources to go after every perpetrator of human righ
ts abuses, and is only supposed to prosecute the very top-level suspected crimin
als.
“The ICC cannot replace our courts and justice system, but many people still belie
ve that the ICC has an obligation to act in all cases,” he said. “Even with those di
sputes that do not constitute crimes against humanity, people still hope they ca
n turn to the ICC for recourse.”
Kyalwe says that this is because people have such little faith in the national j
ustice system – a problem, he adds, that needs to be urgently addressed.
“What I want to see is a culture where all Congolese have access to lawyers when t
hey have a legal problem,” he said. “Let everyone know that not all crimes or offenc
es fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC.”
To correct such misunderstandings, the DRC branch of the Coalition for the ICC,
which supports the court, have run outreach campaigns including workshops, train
ing sessions for journalists and radio programmes.
In the latest initiative, the coalition launched a campaign in Lubumbashi aimed
at raising awareness of the ICC’s work.
“We have had sessions with NGOs and journalists and some members of civil society.
We are now going to meet lawyers,” Freddy Kitoko, a lawyer and the local coordina
tor of the coalition in Katanga province, said.
Kitoko hopes the campaign, launched in September, will eventually have a broad r
each, extending to more remote areas of Katanga.
“If people from Lubumbashi are not well-informed about the ICC, what can be said a
bout those who live in the interior of Katanga?” he said. “You can be certain that i
t is worse.”
Participants at the sessions that have been held so far have generally been supp
ortive of what the coalition is trying to do.
“This campaign is very important,” Francine Mundula, a radio journalist in Lubumbash
i, said. “We always hear about the ICC, but one does not really know how it works.
I support the [initiative], but activities must reach out to all levels of the
population. For me, I have always wondered how cases are referred to the ICC. Is
it the same as with our local courts? I am satisfied that my questions found an
answer.”
Jeef Mbiya, another journalist, also welcomed the clarifications he received, pa
rticularly about the trial of Bemba, who still heads the Movement for the Libera
tion of Congo, MLC, party.
“I wanted to know why the Bemba case has taken so long to be handled,” he said. “Has t
he ICC not played a [political] role by stopping him running in the 2011 electio
ns?”
One of the most popular discussions concerned the question of how magistrates ar
e appointed at the ICC.
“We received [many] questions from participants, even ones we did not expect,” Georg
es Kapiamba, the national coordinator of the coalition, said.
Although he admitted there were big gaps in the public’s knowledge of the court, i
nterest in how it worked was high.
“The coalition usually sets asides three hours for public debates, but we always n
eed more time because of participants’ questions.”
Heritier Maila is an IWPR-trained reporter.