Kinshasa, June 22nd, 2025 (CPA). – The governor of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has warned all those involved in the illegal sale of fuel to prevent fires in the Congolese capital, according to a video from the town hall received by CPA on Saturday. « I warn all those involved in this illegal sale of fuel, especially the authorities behind this activity. This trade exposes the city of Kinshasa to explosions. In the event of a fire here, the collateral damage will be enormous, including loss of life. We will not let this continue. It must be stopped, » said Daniel Bumba, governor of Kinshasa, in the video.
« What we have found here is unacceptable. We cannot tolerate this practice. This space is intended for the construction of footbridges. It is regrettable that the place has been transformed into a fuel sales site and the epicenter of prostitution activities. The environment is already polluted here. Even the air that the surrounding population breathes is no longer good, » he added. According to the source, the urban authority deemed it unacceptable for such activities to take place so close to Lumumba Boulevard, where there is heavy traffic. ‘We cannot tolerate this kind of practice. It is anarchy that we cannot tolerate.
No standards are being respected,’ protested the governor. The warning issued to those engaged in this dangerous trade was also an opportunity for the city authorities to congratulate the special brigade responsible for environmental protection. ‘It is thanks to them that we have been made aware of what is happening in this area. I encourage the officers of this service to continue working in the same vein for the protection of the environment,’ concluded Mr Bumba.
In March 2022, during his visit after the fire that broke out in a fuel depot in the De Bonhomme district of Matete, a municipality in the center of Kinshasa, the President of the Republic, Félix Antoine Tshilombo Tshisekedi, stated that: « This kind of tragedy should not happen again. ‘Petroleum product storage warehouses that do not meet standards should be dismantled,’ he recommended. The fire is believed to have started in a fuel storage depot in this commercial district before spreading to all the commercial buildings. Losses of human life were also reported.