Congolese political opponents are being detained or disappearing: 'We are constantly being hunted'

Aubin Minaku, at the Palais du Peuple in Kinshasa, December 9, 2013 JUNIOR D. KANNAH/AFP

Forty-two members of political parties are "in detention" in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), "most of them accused of colluding with the AFC/M23 [Alliance Fleuve Congo/Mouvement du 23 mars]," the rebel group that launched an offensive in the east of the country at the beginning of 2025.

In its latest bimonthly report on human rights violations documented in the DRC, published on Monday, March 6, the United Nations raised concerns about the imprisonment and disappearance of opponents of Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi. According to Human Rights Watch, this phenomenon accelerated as "hostilities between the government and the M23 and Rwandan forces escalated" in recent months, according to a statement published on March 10.

The fate of Aubin Minaku, former president of the Assemblée Nationale under Joseph Kabila (2001-2019) and current vice president of the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie (PPRD), has been a particular source of anxiety for those close to him. During the night of January 17 to 18, Minaku was abducted from his home in the middle of the night.

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