The looming shadow of the «Kulunas»
As is often the case, tragically, this news item is revealing. On 24 November 2024, star journalist Jemimah Mambara Mogwo, who worked for Radio-Télévision Nationale Congolaise (RTNC), was brutally attacked and killed as she was returning home after presenting the television news. The incident sent shock waves through the capital and the country. Jeminah had the misfortune of crossing paths with a group of Kulunas, highly violent urban youth gangs armed with machetes that operate in working-class neighbourhoods and on the main roads of the capital. For a few dollars, life can end right there, on the roadside or a flood-ravaged path...
Like all vast metropolises, and even more so here, where the city appears to be beyond the authorities' control, Kinshasa faces the challenge of crime, fuelled by demographics and urban concentration. Originally, in Lingala, the word kuluna is derived from the verb kolona, which means «to plant», «to settle» or to «establish oneself». Kuluna has evolved to refer to these groups of young delinquents who «stake out their territory» or «impose their law» in neighbourhoods. The gangs take possession of public spaces through violence, assault or intimidation, much like «planting a flag» on conquered territory. The term became popular in the 2000s as the phenomenon of these street gangs, often armed with machetes, spread throughout the working-class neighbourhoods of Kinshasa.
In an already fraught atmosphere due to the war in the east and widespread suspicions of espionage and treason, the Congolese government announced in March 2024 that it was lifting the moratorium on the death penalty, which had been in place since 2003, citing the need to combat «military treason and urban banditry resulting in loss of life». This decision was led by the very active Minister of Justice, Constant Mutamba. Trials were held, resulting in dozens of young people being sentenced to death. This security policy, supported by some of the population, who sometimes engage in reckless acts of «mob justice» on the streets, has provoked strong reactions from human rights organisations, which highlight its questionable effectiveness and the risk of abuse in an already highly fragile judicial and police system.