Kinshasa, June 24th, 2025 (CPA) – Three (3) buildings housing a police station and two sub-stations were inaugurated on Tuesday by the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Homeland, in the commune of Kimbanseke as part of police reform in the east of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ‘Through this acquisition of infrastructure and equipment, we are here to give concrete expression to the shared desire to see the reform of the police succeed, in other words, to provide the DRC with a modern, well-equipped police force capable of protecting its population and its territory, such is the desire of the President of the Republic’, declared Jacquemain Shabani, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Homeland and Security. At the same time, he called on the mayor of the commune of Kimbaseke and those in charge of the local police in the municipality to take responsibility for working together to meet the security needs of this part of the country. For Maekawa Hidenobu, the acting Chargé d’Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in the DRC, this acquisition is a symbol of protection, accessibility and public trust with the population. ‘What we see before us is not just a collection of buildings. These police stations are also symbols of protection, accessibility and public trust, strategically placed at the very heart of the population they are intended to serve’, he stressed.
For the acting Chargé d’Affaires, this acquisition is a clear commitment to the reform of the Congolese National Police (PNC), in particular through the implementation of community policing, based on partnership and mutual respect between the police and the population.
The Police Reform Programming Act, welcomed by Japan
Mr Maekawa Hidenobu also expressed his satisfaction at the efforts made by the government to adopt the bill on police reform programming for the period 2026-2030, after more than 10 years of discussions. In his view, this represents the transformation of a political will into a legal obligation. ‘The law sets out a clear roadmap, including the construction of more than 1,000 police stations and the strengthening of training capacities over the next five (5) years, priorities that are perfectly in line with what we are celebrating today. But laws and buildings are not enough. Change takes root when ideas are shared and responsibilities assumed, and when every player – legislator, local authority, national institution and the general public – plays its part to the full’, he added. Michiko Miyamoto Furuta, advisor in charge of the P4P project, highlighted the project’s three (3) areas of intervention, based on the integrated approach: training, improving the working environment through adequate infrastructure, and improving collaboration between the police and the public. She called on the Kimbanseke police to demonstrate professionalism and ethics, and on the local population to work in partnership with the police to combat the ‘Kuluna’ phenomenon. The equipment includes buildings for the Kimbanseke 1 police station and the Mabinda and Revolution sub-stations in the same commune, as well as a vehicle, six motorbikes and a radio transmission. The ceremony was attended by a number of civil and military authorities, including the general commissioner of the PNC, the mayor of the commune of Kimbanseke, traditional chiefs, civil society and technical and financial partners. This project is being carried out with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the DRC through its ‘P4P’ project, and has been implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). ACP/