Kinshasa, June 8th, 2025 (CPA) – A number of illegally occupied public spaces are disappearing thanks to a vast demolition operation launched by the provincial government of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to make the city more beautiful than before. Kinshasa, a megalopolis with a population of fifteen million, is regarded as a rubbish town by its citizens. This is why the Provincial Executive is determined to clean up its urban environment, as part of the vision of its Governor, Daniel Bumba. A vision focused on sanitation, summed up by slogans such as ‘Kin Ezobonga’ (Kinshasa will be clean) and ‘Balabala eza Wenze te’ (The street is not a market). ‘The provincial government is determined to clean up Kinshasa’s urban environment, which is why we have today launched a vast operation to demolish unplanned buildings (…) this operation will be extended to the whole of the capital. This initiative is part of Governor Daniel Bumba Lubaki’s vision’, declared Eddy Iyeli, deputy governor of Kinshasa, on Sunday, during an operation to demolish unauthorized buildings at the Victoire roundabout in the commune of Kalamu, in the center of the Congolese capital.
On Saturday, June 7th, 2025, the urban government team demolished houses and other buildings along the Ngaliema bay in western Kinshasa. The aim here is to restore and protect these areas, given their importance in helping to stabilize the climate. ‘Today we are demolishing the houses and buildings built along Ngaliema Bay. The plan here is to return Ngaliema Bay to its natural state. The Congolese state needs it. We can no longer tolerate anarchic construction’, said Léon Mulumba, provincial minister for the environment, cleanliness and embellishment of the city. To demolish these anarchic constructions and pirate markets in Kinshasa, the provincial government is relying on the legal act laid down by the previous executive headed by former governor Gentiny Ngobila.
The provincial executive is also relying on several legal texts, including the 1973 ordinance-law on land tenure, the 1993, 1974 and 2025 decrees, as well as provincial decisions to secure areas at risk. Previously, the provincial executive had demolished anarchic buildings at Place Kintambo-Magasin, to free up several public spaces belonging to the Congolese Railway Company that had been taken over by private individuals. For provincial MP Guylain Pohungu, author of a topical question addressed to the provincial Minister for Infrastructure and Public Works, Alain Tshilungu, on June 4th, this demolition campaign should not be seen as ‘revenge against the poor, but as a preventive measure to protect the city, families, infrastructure and the urban economy’. ‘In view of the seriousness of the disasters caused by anarchic construction, the provincial government of Kinshasa has launched a demolition campaign aimed at freeing up public rights-of-way (roads, rivers, gutters), preventing loss of life and natural disasters, and re-establishing the State’s authority in urban planning matters’, explained Minister Tshilungu. This campaign to demolish illegal buildings and pirate markets, preceded by a six (6) month awareness-raising phase, began in May 2025. This was followed by the identification of high-risk sites and the issuing of formal notices in September 2024.
The process also includes consultation with local authorities and the general public, via the media, mayors and the police.