Photo of urban offenders
Kinshasa, December 16th, 2025 (CPA).- One hundred and fifty-three (153) young urban offenders arrested during Operation Ndobo in Lubumbashi (Haut-Katanga), have been transferred to Kaniama Kasese (Haut-Lomami), in the south-west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, for vocational training under the supervision of the National Service (SN), according to official sources on Tuesday. ‘These young people, arrested during the recent
“Ndobo” operation in Lubumbashi, are being transferred to Kaniama Kasese where they will be trained in several trades, including carpentry, mechanics, agriculture and masonry,’ has declared Martin Kazembe, governor of Haut-Katanga. « Where you are going is not a place of suffering, but a training centre where you can rebuild your lives and learn a trade. It is an opportunity to become useful to the nation. The Congolese government, with the support of the President of the Republic, will accompany you every step of the way so that you can rediscover the meaning of life. One day, you will be the ones training other young people, » he has added at the airport when the group left.
Among these young people are also 12 girls and volunteers, some of whom were enrolled by their own parents, keen to offer them a better future. For his part, Major General Blaise Kilimbalimba, divisional commissioner of the Haut Katanga Police, has said that he had ordered them to be dressed in overalls before departure. « I wanted them to leave Kinshasa with dignity, dressed in simple overalls and not military uniforms. I also encouraged them to know that the country needs them. They will learn trades and become useful to the Republic, » he has said, before specifying that this operation is part of the vision of the Head of State, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, to transform idle and delinquent urban youth into productive citizens capable of contributing to the development of the country. CPA/