Raia Mutomboki
| Raia Mutomboki | |
|---|---|
 Raïa Mutomboki fighters pictured at Kalehe, South Kivu in March 2019 | |
| Leaders | Jean Musumbu Paul Ngumbi Wangozi Isaac Chirambiza |
| Dates of operation | 2005-present |
| Motives | Anti-Rwandan and anti-Hutu |
| Active regions | North and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Opponents | FDLR File:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg DR Congo |
| Battles and wars | Kivu Conflict |
Raïa Mutomboki or Raiya Mutomboki (Swahili; lit. 'an angry citizen'[1]) are a Mai-Mai militia operating in the South Kivu region in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] The group formed in 2005 to fight against Rwandan Hutu groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) as part of the Kivu conflict.[1]
History
[edit | edit source]The group was founded by Pastor Jean Musumbu, who had defected from the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in response to massacres by the FDLR.[2] Raïa Mutomboki is said to use a 'snowballing' recruitment strategy whereby a village is defended or liberated from FDLR or related forces and the males from that village are initiated into the group.[2] The group emerged and reemerged as a reaction to the Congolese Army's relative absence in North and South Kivu.[1] In 2011, the group was reinvigorated when infighting in the Congolese army caused them to withdraw from the fight in eastern provinces.[1] The group's existence is largely a result of the failure of the "policy of disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration" that was part of the Sun City Agreement that ended the Second Congo War.[1]
By 2012, Raïa Mutomboki had stood accused by a United Nations Security Council panel of experts of the killing of more than 260 civilians.[3] Paul Ngumbi Wangozi, known as Sisawa, had reportedly been a leader of Raïa Mutomboki up until his death in battle with the Congolese army in September 2014.[4] A year later, his widow Cynthia surrendered along with 71 Raïa Mutomboki members to Congolese army forces.[5]
In September 2018, Raïa Mutomboki militiamen allegedly gang raped 17 women in the Lubila region of South Kivu.[6] Child soldiers were said to be involved in the incident.[6] The assault was said to be led by Masudi Alimasi Kokodikoko, leader of a faction of Raïa Mutomboki at this time.[6] In 2018, a second leader of a Raïa Mutomboki faction, Isaac Chirambiza, was arrested by army forces on accusation of systematic rapes.[6] In April 2019, Kokodikoko was arrested by the army for the September 2018 gang rapes.[7]
They were accused of voter intimidation in the 2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election.[8]
See also
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References
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