Kinshasa, May 18th, 2026 (CPA). – A police station installed in the Mbuala district , in Kimbanseke, a municipality in the east of the city of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been ransacked following the death of a young man who was killed by gunfire, it was learned on Monday from an administrative source.
“Sylvain Mbayo, a victim who was killed by gunfire, has been taken to the hospital in Quartier 7, in the municipality of N’djili. Unfortunately, at around 1.30 am, he has succumbed to his injuries. The announcement of his death has provoked anger among the public, who has ransacked the neighbourhood police station in Kimbanseke 1,” has declared Zeth Makela, vice-president of the Kimbanseke Municipal Youth Council.
“According to information we have gathered from people present at the scene of the incident, during their patrol, the policemen have arrived on an avenue in the neighbourhood where two young men were standing in front of their plot of land. The policemen have questioned them. One of them has managed to escape whilst the other was arrested. Sometimes later, young people who had come to help free their friend have confronted the police. It was then that a police officer has fired his weapon accidentally. One of the young people who had come to their friend’s aid has been hit by a bullet,” he has added.
Mr Makela has urged the residents of this neighbourhood to refrain from taking the law into their own hands, despite the emotions stirred up by this tragedy. We deplore this kind of behaviour. The role of the police is to protect the population and their property, not to shoot at citizens. We demand that an investigation be launched to identify the officer involved and that justice be done,” he has insisted. “The message that we address to the authorities is to come and refurbish this police station, as the neighbourhood is now exposed to insecurity. We also demand that police officers be provided with adequate equipment to better ensure safety in such situations,” he has said.