STOP THE BLOOD — EXECUTION IS NOT JUSTICE
I cannot stay silent when my country prepares to kill its own sons and daughters in the name of justice. Reports say more than 170 young people, between 18 and 35 years old, have been moved from Kinshasa to Angenga prison to face execution. The government says these are “bandits,” members of street gangs called Kuluna. But who checks if that is true? Who listens to their stories before pulling the trigger?
Amnesty International has already warned that these transfers could mean mass executions are coming soon. They said the prison in Angenga is known for death, hunger, and disease. Many prisoners sent there before have never come back alive. C’est une prison de la mort — it is a prison of death.
President Felix Tshisekedi says he wants to bring order and end crime in the cities. But you cannot clean blood with more blood. Killing young people will not end violence. It will only create more pain, more anger, and more orphans. Justice is not revenge. Justice is truth, fairness, and respect for life.
The Minister of Justice, Constant Mutamba, has already spoken like a judge before any trial. He said those connected to gangs will be arrested and sentenced to death. But what kind of justice system kills first and investigates later? C’est une honte nationale — it is a national shame. These trials are often unfair, rushed, and controlled by fear, not evidence.
Many of those waiting in line for execution were born into poverty. They grew up in the streets, without schools, without jobs, without hope. Now the government that failed to protect them wants to kill them to look strong. This is not leadership. This is weakness wearing a mask of power.
We must also remember that Congo stopped executions for more than twenty years. In that time, our country still faced crime, but we did not become better by killing. Now that the government wants to bring death back, it is moving us backwards. The same leaders who speak about democracy and human rights are now preparing firing squads. Où est la conscience? — where is the conscience?
Amnesty International is right. President Tshisekedi must stop this plan immediately and publicly. He must show that his government still values life. Parliament must bring back the moratorium on executions until Congo is ready to abolish the death penalty forever. The people deserve justice, not slaughter.
If these executions go ahead, history will remember this moment. It will not remember the names of the young men who died, because nobody will record them. But it will remember the silence of those who could have stopped it and did nothing.
We must not let our nation become a graveyard for its own children. Every voice that speaks now may save a life. La vie est sacrée — life is sacred. And when the state kills in cold blood, it becomes no better than the criminals it condemns.
Congo needs jobs, schools, and justice — not bullets in the night. The solution to violence is not more death. It is dignity, truth, and opportunity. President Tshisekedi must listen before it is too late. Le sang ne lave pas le sang — blood cannot wash blood.
