Kinshasa, January 21st, 2026 (CPA). – Residents of the commune of N’sele, in eastern Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were invited on Wednesday to take ownership of their municipality’s tourist sites, during an interview with the CPA by an official from a public institution in the sector.
« We invite the residents of the commune of N’sele to come and immerse themselves in our tourist sites located in their own municipality, because the local population does not yet have a culture of tourism. There are residents who live here without knowing about the tourist sites in our jurisdiction and are not interested in tourist information, » said Pathy Lonkuta, head of the National Tourist Office (ONT), the provincial agency in Kinshasa. He pointed out that even at the community level, some tourist sites remain unknown to the local population.
‘We are available to welcome visitors, guide them and explain the history of the city and the tourist sites that abound in our municipality,’ he added. In addition, Mr Lonkuta mentioned several difficulties encountered in carrying out their mission, in particular the administrative harassment by certain provincial public service officials responsible for managing and controlling migration movements in the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially with regard to foreign tourists. » In June, we welcomed three German tourists who had come to go river trekking. All the necessary permits, approved by the mayor, the ANR and the DGM of the municipality, had been issued to them. But when they arrived at the river, other ANR and DGM officials blocked them, creating real chaos, » he explained.
The head of the National Tourist Office, Kinshasa provincial agency, emphasized that where there is peace, tourists can also stay in complete tranquility, before calling for an end to harassment and for the provision of tourist promotion materials, such as leaflets, tourist maps and other media. 5,363 tourists registered in 2025 For his part, Mr Cédrick Ibunu, head of administration and finance at the ONT in Kinkole, presented the tourism statistics recorded in 2025 in the municipalities of N’sele and Maluku. « In 2025, we recorded 5,363 tourists, including 5,277 domestic and 87 international visitors. In contrast, in 2024, 16,686 tourists were recorded, including 16,402 domestic and 284 international visitors. We saw a significant decline in 2025 due to difficulties encountered on the ground, » he said. According to Mr Ibunu, this decline is linked in particular to the ‘Mobondo’ phenomenon that is rampant in certain areas of the municipality, where several tourist sites are occupied, preventing visitors from accessing them.
He also mentioned the inconvenience caused by traffic jams, calling on the State to open secondary roads to ease traffic flow, install public lighting and improve the electricity supply to ensure the safety of tourists. The Kinkole–N’sele–Maluku branch has a total of 354 tourist units, including 270 hotels, 37 restaurants and 45 tourist sites, 13 of which are currently closed due to the ‘Mobondo’ phenomenon. ACP/