Mushibi Kabwende Faby

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Lawyer Mushibi Kabwende Fabu assaulted and tortured

6 September 2024

Lawyer Mushibi Kabwende Faby, member of the Lomami Bar Association, was abducted and brutally assaulted by security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mushibi Kabwende Faby was beaten, tortured and humiliated by the security forces in a video that has gone viral. This violent attack was condemned by the Pan-African Lawyers‘ Union (PALU).

On 19 August 2024, a complaint was filed by the Congolese Association for the Defence of Defence against Brigadier General Jean Claude KIFWA KAMBILI and others for kidnapping, confinement, torture, threats, assault and various other offences. The Lomami Bar Association has also denounced these facts to the Military Auditor General, who is responsible for prosecuting a General of his rank and the co-perpetrators[1].

Mushibi Kabwende Faby is still in hospital.

The Observatory expresses its indignation and condemns in the strongest possible terms the acts of violence suffered by Mushibi Kabwende Faby.

The Observatory expresses its deep solidarity with Mushibi Kabwende Faby and his Bar and will follow the lawyer’s situation with particular attention.

The Observatory urges the Congolese authorities to carry out an independent and impartial investigation into the ill-treatment suffered by Mr Mushibi Kabwende Faby, in accordance with article 12 of the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which states that: „Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction.“

[1] Lomami Bar Association’s statement, available here : https://protect-lawyers.org/wp-content/uploads/Communique-Barreau-Lomami.pdf