DRC-Japan: inauguration of a bakery to provide economic support to victims of the Mobondo militia

Kinshasa, June 7^th, 2026 (CPA). – A bakery has been inaugurated on Saturday in the Bateke plateau, in the east of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by the Minister in charge of Human Rights and his colleague in charge of Gender, to provide economic support to displaced women who are victims of abuses by the Mobondo militia, according to a note consulted by CPA. “Samuel Mbemba, Minister in charge of Human Rights, and Micheline Ombae, Minister in charge of Gender, Family and Children, inaugurated a bakery to restore hope to women displaced by the Mobondo conflict in the Bateke Plateau. Mr Mbemba advised the beneficiaries to work hard to move from the status of victims to that of economic actors,” it is read in the statement from the communications unit of the Ministry in charge of Human Rights. Minister Mbemba has welcomed this project, funded by Japan in collaboration with the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in DRC and the organisation Afla, whilst noting that other victims of this militia have scattered across the provinces of Mai-Ndombe, Kwango, Kwilu and the Bateke Plateau also need such projects that combine protection, assistance for vulnerable people, local capacity-building and the promotion of sustainable solutions based on human rights.  On this occasion, he has called on the Japanese government and other partners to take an interest in all victims, before commending the bilateral cooperation between DRC and Japan as well as the partnership with the UNJHRO. The violence perpetrated by the Mobondo militia has claimed more than 5,000 lives and displaced approximately 280,000 people. Originally triggered in Kwamouth, in Mai-Ndombe, in June 2022, by a land and customary conflict between the Teke and Yaka communities, the conflict has become militarised and spread to five provinces in the west of the country, namely Mai-Ndombe, Kwilu, Kwango, Kongo Central and the outskirts of Kinshasa, notably the municipality of Maluku.ACP/