Tshikapa, April 22nd, 2026 (CPA). – A ravine is threatening the artisanal diamond mine in the village of “Lombe,” located about 170 km from the city of Tshikapa in Kasai, in the centre of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following its reopening, CPA has learned on Wednesday from a local source. “The mining operations has resumed recently. Worse still, this is being done under the protection of security forces from Kamonia, the chief town of the Tshikapa territory.
In just a few days, a ravine has opened up in the heart of the mine and is rapidly eroding the ground, advancing toward the homes of peaceful citizens, the road, and the health centre in Lombe. “If nothing is done urgently, Lombe will disappear,” has warned Steve Kayembe, a village elder from “Lombe.” “The reopening of this diamond mine has not been authorized,” has explained Gaston Kamoyo, deputy administrator of the Tshikapa territory, while promising to look into the matter immediately. The decision to close this diamond mine had been taken to prevent an environmental disaster, given that the unregulated mining pits were already damaging the local road and the health centre, the village’s only medical facility.