Lawyers Back Landmark Case By Three Communities In DRC At EACJ

IN SUMMARY

• A coalition of lawyers is backing a landmark case filed by the Banyamulenge, Tutsi of North Kivu, and Hema communities against the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
• The aforementioned  case follows the DRC’s recent accession to the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (EAC Treaty) and seeks accountability for decades of state-enabled ethnic persecution.
• The lawyers, Bernard  Maingain(Brussels),Jean Paul Shaka(New York),Innocent Nteziryayo-Co-ordinator of Collectif (The UK), and John Nyanje(Nairobi),stated that,the DRC Government failed to act and instead intensified its actions, further entrenching the suffering of these communities.

A coalition of lawyers is backing a landmark case filed by the Banyamulenge, Tutsi of North Kivu, and Hema communities against the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).

The aforementioned  case follows the DRC’s recent accession to the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (EAC Treaty) and seeks accountability for decades of state-enabled ethnic persecution,systematic violence, and structural exclusion.

Since 2021, this same collective of lawyers has filed multiple cases in domestic courts in the DRC and has sought the intervention of international courts, calling on the DRC to stop ongoing atrocities against the above-named communities.

Through a statement,the lawyers, Bernard  Maingain(Brussels),Jean Paul Shaka(New York),Innocent Nteziryayo-Co-ordinator of Collectif (The UK), and John Nyanje(Nairobi),stated that,the DRC Government failed to act and instead intensified its actions, further entrenching the suffering of these communities.

They are accusing the President Felix Tshisekedi administrtaion of:

1. Collaborating with and supporting armed groups responsible for mass atrocities including Wazalendo (formerly Mai-Mai), CODECO, Red Tabara, and FDLR militia groups;
2. Engaging in extrajudicial killings, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing;
3. committing widespread cannibalism, and sexual and gender-based violence;
4. Engaging in hate speech, incitement to violence and genocidal rhetoric, and denying the Tutsi of North Kivu and the Banyamulenge communities citizenship, legal identity, and freedom of movement;
5. Carrying out arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, and enforced disappearance;
6. pillaging civilian villages, farms, livestock and other property; and
7. Imposing economic blockades, closing community bank accounts, and restricting trade.

“These acts violate the DRC’s obligations under the EAC Treaty and international human rights law instruments including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,”The press statement read in part.

The Applicants are also asking the  the EACJ to:

i) Declare the DRC responsible for the violations against the Banyamulenge, Tutsi of North Kivu, and Hema communities.

ii) Direct the DRC to make reparations in favour of these communities.

iii) Direct the DRC to guarantee citizenship, economic access, and non-repetition measures.

Call to Action

The lawyers further urged the international community, regional institutions, civil society, and the media to support this effort and offer visibility to these long-silenced and persecuted communities.

“Their case is not only legal—it is a call for justice, recognition, and dignity. The East African Court of Justice must not only hear this case—it must also act with courage. The world must finally listen,”The lawyers asserted.