Sarah Zingg Wimmer's blog

News reached Goma yesterday that Col. Baudouin Ngaruye, one of Bosco Ntaganda’s most important allies, has accepted to be transferred to South Kivu. The reason behind Baudouin’s acceptance to be transferred away from the ex-CNDP strongholds in Masisi is uncertain, but the amount of ammunition his troops took along could point to an attempt to expand the area of control held by Ntaganda’s loyalists down to South Kivu.  Read More »

Thousands of women marched through the city center of Goma yesterday in celebration of International Women’s Day. Women turned out in droves, participants explained, because this annual event is the only day of the year when their voices would be heard.  Read More »

Early on the morning of February 2, Member of Parliament Bakungu Mitondeke and his family were awakened by the arrival of heavily armed soldiers that prompted a firefight between the Congolese troops and Mitondeke’s personal security guards. The Provincial Security Committee had ordered a weapon search throughout the city of Goma, including at the house of Mitondeke. Two soldiers, two policemen, and a security guard died in the skirmish, and an additional six police officers and another security guard were injured.  Read More »

With Joseph Kabila reinstalled in Congo’s presidential palace for another five-year term, discord remains high in the restive eastern region over the irregularities of the vote and the count. The calm is in part state imposed and in part the effect of peoples’ resignation toward the outcome and interest in moving forward without provoking insecurity in a region prone to violence.  Read More »

First assessments by the three major international observer missions of Congo’s presidential and legislative elections have come out, as the country awaits the official results, expected late tomorrow. An important question to ask: Did the elections observers have enough personnel on the ground to accurately assess how freely and fairly people were able to cast their votes?  Read More »

Stores and schools were closed for the day as people flocked to polling stations to vote in the second presidential and legislative elections since Congo’s independence in 1960 on Monday. Voters chose from among 11 candidates to elect Congo’s fifth president and among 18,385 for the 500-seat National Assembly. In North and South Kivu, 1,463 and 881 parliamentary candidates ran for 47 and 32 seats respectively. While voting proceeded relatively peacefully in both eastern provinces, the day was marked by irregularities, logistical problems, and violence.  Read More »

The election scheduled for next Monday is only the second time that the Congolese will choose their leader by universal suffrage. As the voting date approaches, people are getting increasingly worried about what will happen after the election results are announced in early December. Will the candidates accept the outcome?  Will their supporters? These questions are especially important for Congo’s restive East.  Read More »

The city of Goma came to a standstill this week as its residents awaited the arrival of the incumbent President Joseph Kabila and one of the main opposition figures and presidential hopeful, Etienne Tshisekedi. As part of the electoral campaign, officially launched on October 28, the two contenders traveled to the provincial capital of North Kivu to stir up popular support for the upcoming elections on November 28.  Read More »

What does it take to put into practice the notion that the international community has a responsibility to intervene when a country’s government is either unable or unwilling to stop mass violence committed against its citizens, or when the government itself backs the abuses?  Read More »