DRC: Victims still waiting for justice, truth and reparations 25 years on from Kisangani war

Twenty-five years since the six-day war in Kisangani in Democratic Republic of Congo in which hundreds of civilians were killed and thousands more injured, victims are still waiting for truth, justice and, for the most part, reparations, Amnesty International said in a new briefing today. 

The briefing Is anyone moved by Congo’s pain? 25 years without justice for the six-day war in Kisangani,documents how there has not been a single criminal investigation or trial since the bloody conflict between Rwandan and Ugandan forces. During the fighting in the north-eastern city, which started on 5 June 2000, both armies engaged in intense and indiscriminate shelling of heavily populated civilian areas, intentionally killed civilians, raped women and pillaged houses.  

It is utterly unacceptable that for 25 years, not a single person has been held to account for crimes perpetrated in Kisangani, not one.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

With the DRC courts’ failure to pursue justice and the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) lack of jurisdiction over crimes committed in DRC before 2002, those suspected of criminal responsibility for these crimes have never been prosecuted and punished. 

“It is utterly unacceptable that for 25 years, not a single person has been held to account for crimes perpetrated in Kisangani, not one,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa. “This lack of criminal accountability for past crimes has led to a cycle of violence in the DRC, with similar actors, similar weapons and similar suffering. Justice cannot wait another 25 years. It is the responsibility of Congolese judicial authorities to investigate and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, prosecute those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes committed on DRC territory.” 

In 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Uganda to pay reparations, following a case brought by the DRC against Uganda and Rwanda. The ICJ did not have jurisdiction over Rwanda. In 2024, some victims finally started to receive compensation, but the process by been wrought by complaints of mismanagement and embezzlement. 

Amnesty International interviewed over 50 people, mostly survivors, as well as civil society organizations and justice sector officials. 

The “Three-Day, One-Day and Six-Day wars” in Kisangani 

The six-day war was one of a series of conflicts between the Ugandan and Rwandan armies in Kisangani between August 1999 and June 2000 that left behind a trail of death and destruction. 

The first war – “the three-day war”, started on 14 June 1999, with the two armies exchanging indiscriminate fire and shelling, which killed more than 30 civilians  and wounded more than 100.  

After close to a year of relative quiet, fighting started again on 5 May 2000 and lasted only one day. Exactly a month later, the “six-day war”, which was more intense, started. Without differentiating between civilians and combatants, the two armies indiscriminately shelled Kisangani, killing several hundred civilians and injuring thousands. 

A civil society activist who survived and reported on the three wars in Kisangani recounted:  

“For six days there were only bombs falling, we did not know if we were going to live. There were a lot of fatalities…” 

A woman who was seven at the time of the war, recalled: 

“I was walking with my grandmother when I was struck by a bomb in my leg. I didn’t know how to get to hospitals, it was dangerous, so we were dealing with the injury at home, but the foot was rotting. On the fifth day I went to the hospital, but it was too late, they cut off my leg.  

For six days there were only bombs falling, we did not know if we were going to live. There were a lot of fatalities.

Survivor, Kisangani

“A gentleman who could not go home until the war ended, returned at the end of the six days and found his wife and three children dead, their corpses decomposing. The house had been hit by bombs. “He went mad and died shortly after.”  

People want truth, justice and reparations 

Despite the lack of judicial criminal proceedings either in the DRC or internationally, the people’s demands for justice and reparations remain strong decades later. 

A man, who also survived the wars, said: “My dearest wish was the establishment of courts. This is the wish of the Congolese people. Now we have a sense of frustration in the population. Why were there blockages? It is unclear why crimes that have already been documented have not been tried. Is there nobody emotionally moved by the crimes committed in Congo?” 

At least 40 people interviewed told Amnesty International that there was no political will to institute criminal proceedings or deliver justice. Lack of judicial independence has also meant that without the support of political leaders, some of whom are former belligerents, judicial officials could not open investigations. 

The complete lack of prosecutions has led to a loss of trust in the country’s justice system and the government. 

With regards to reparation programmes, the Special Fund for the Distribution of Compensation to Victims of Uganda’s Illicit Activities in the DRC (FRIVAO), tasked to manage the millions of dollars Uganda has been ordered to pay for reparations by the ICJ, has been criticised for lack of transparency and adequate consultations with victims of the Kisangani wars.  

Justice cannot wait another 25 years. It is the responsibility of Congolese judicial authorities to investigate and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, prosecute those suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes committed on DRC territory

Tigere Chagutah

One activist said: “People have no decency; there has been bloodshed… and they are embezzling funds that were intended for public interest work and victims! That is not what we fought for.”  

Tigere Chagutah said: “Amnesty International reminds DRC of its obligations to investigate and, if enough admissible evidence is found, to prosecute in fair trials those suspected of criminal responsibility for the serious crimes committed in the territory of the DRC for over 30 years, including the Kisangani war.”  

“The government must also offer adequate, effective and prompt reparations to victims following genuine consultations with survivors and civil society.”