Civil society groups have denounced the “arbitrary” arrests of 11 community leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo following a peaceful protest over the impacts of mining operations on local communities.
Authorities made the arrests on May 1 in the country’s southeastern Lualaba province, prompting calls by local and international NGOs for the “immediate and unconditional release of all detainees.”
The case centers around Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), one of the world’s largest copper and cobalt miners and a subsidiary of CMOC (China Molybdenum) Group, which in 2020 built a lime processing plant near the village of Kabombwa in Lualaba.
Two years later, following an investigation, the NGO African Natural Resources Watch (AFREWATCH) alleged that TFM’s plant was releasing acidic water into a nearby river, causing 11 deaths between 2020 and 2022. The company denied AFREWATCH’s findings, yet in 2023 relocated several Kabombwa residents through a provincial government commission, and paid out compensation ranging from $3,000 to $5,000.
Three years after the relocation, many residents remain deeply dissatisfied.
