M23 fighters press locals into east DRC city clean-up

GOMA – Gun-toting M23 fighters on Thursday watched on as requisitioned locals cleaned up streets in the eastern DR Congo city of Bukavu seized by the Rwanda-backed group.

The M23 took control of the South Kivu provincial capital on Sunday, just weeks after capturing North Kivu’s main city Goma and months of steady advances in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s east.

Those gains gave the group control of Lake Kivu which sits between the cities, cementing their return to prominence since taking up arms again in late 2021 in the mineral-rich region plagued by armed conflict.

The M23 is now setting up its own authorities in both cities — appointing police and mayors — as it readies to govern in the long term.

Bukavu fell with next to no resistance but armed civilians wrought violence and looting in the city until Monday.

Now after having restored calm, the M23 says it is looking to tidy up a mess it accuses the Congolese government and its president Felix Tshisekedi of leaving behind.

“We are in peace because (our troops) ensure security here,” Lawrence Kanyuka, M23 political spokesperson, told spectators.

Residents had been summoned to the main square for the “salongo” — or community service — in a bid to clean the city’s streets.

Tshisekedi “has put dirt here… We are going to chase Tshisekedi away! He will leave with his dirt! Let us do our work with courage and rebuild our home,” Kanyuka said.

– ‘Beautiful clean’ Bukavu –

People could be seen moving through the streets with handmade brushes and plastic bags to collect rubbish, as well as cleaning mud out of gutters with spades.

According to the head of one of the city’s sectors residents have been more responsive to the M23 administration than to previous authorities.

But with armed M23 fighters nearby, AFP journalists found it tough to tell how far the responses of Bukavu residents were born of a genuine delight at their new masters’ work.

Ferdinand Zihindula, who took part in the clean-up, said that “if this type of thing continues we will truly have a beautiful and clean city”.

Local community group leader Bagalwa Rubakuza said that drives like the clean-ups have always been organised “without success”.

“But today it’s a success because we are supported by the new authorities, at previous times it was always a failure,” Rubakuza said.

“In the blink of an eye, the city of Bukavu became clean after the great insalubrity witnessed during the looting in the war,” he added.

Some who spoke to AFP pointed the finger at the DRC government, which has been accused of inefficiency and corruption. 

Resident Fabrice Birindwa said it is the “first time” he has seen Bukavu clean.

“There was real negligence, laziness and a lack of will on the part of our former leaders,” he said.

“Everyone, young and old, is active in restoring the tarnished image of our environment. Bukavu, once called the Switzerland of Africa, has become Bukavu the trash can, there really needs to be change,” Birindwa added.

Chantal Balemba, a tomato seller at a market in Bukavu, said that with the community clean-up efforts “we really feel the change”.

But some people want to go even further.

Rubakuza thinks the new authorities should “ban the importation” of drinks in plastic bottles which contribute to the pollution in the city.

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