Gold is just one of the precious minerals found in abundance in South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But anger continues to swell among the people of the region as the scourges of illegal mining and smuggling deprive them of their land’s wealth.
Several hundred people protested in the city of Bukavu on January 8 after the release of a group of Chinese men arrested on suspicion of illegal mining. Two Congolese men held a banner that read “South Kivu minerals should serve the development and well-being of local communities,” according to Agence France-Presse.
“These Chinese companies in (the towns of) Lugusha, Kitutu, Kaboke, Suguru, and Mitobo have failed to fulfill their promises,” a protester told Voice of America’s Central Africa Service. “They promised to build schools, bridges, roads, hospitals, and a stadium, and to provide scholarships for our students. But they have done nothing.”
Civil society leader Nene Bintu urged officials to take action.
“Our minerals are being plundered by companies that are mostly Chinese-owned and our people remain in extreme poverty, the roads are very dilapidated, we have difficulty accessing drinking water, health care, education, electricity, employment,” she said during the demonstration, according to Reuters. “This situation has gone on for too long and must end now.”
It’s a sentiment supported by the provincial governor, Jean Jacques Purusi, who told local reporters he was shocked to find out that 17 Chinese nationals, who were detained in December and charged with running an illegal gold mine, had been released and allowed to return to China.
Purusi, who heard about a shipment of minerals that was recently smuggled out of the country, quietly set up a monitoring system. It quickly bore fruit, as authorities were tipped off to a major smuggling attempt.
“This information revealed to us that another quantity of minerals was going to be taken out of the same site to cross the border,” Purusi said, according to Congolese French-language newspaper Actualite. “As soon as we had this news, we organized an operation.”
Authorities intercepted a speeding vehicle in Mashango village in the Walungu territory, less than 50 kilometers from the border with Rwanda. They arrested three Chinese men, searched the car and found 12 gold bars and nearly $800,000 hidden under the seats.
On January 14, a judge in Bukavu sentenced the men to seven years in prison and ordered them to pay $600,000 in fines for illegally exploiting mineral resources, fraud, money laundering and looting, according to court filings. The judge also permanently banned the men from the country once their sentences are served. It was the first time the DRC convicted foreign mineral brokers for mining without authorization.
“This is an educational trial that should serve as a wake-up call to all Chinese nationals who think they can leave China, arrive in Kitutu, Kibe, Lugushwa, Kamituga or Mwenga and behave as if they were in their own room, without even paying the hotel fees,” Christian Wanduma, a lawyer representing local communities in the trial, told reporters outside the courthouse after the sentencing.
Officials in South Kivu have increased efforts to combat illegal mineral trafficking. In June 2024, authorities identified 547 companies operating illegally. In July, Purusi suspended all mining activities and ordered companies and operators to leave their sites in order to improve the province’s regulatory capabilities. On January 13, the day before the verdict, he told reporters that his constituents are exasperated with Chinese operations systematically looting Congolese minerals.
“This is only one-tenth of what they have already taken from us,” Purusi said, according to VOA. “We will not let it go. This is the wealth of the people of South Kivu. We are determined to go all the way because enough is enough.”
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