Retracing the Congolese March Where Dido Kakisingi was Killed
In October two people were sentenced to five years in jail in connection with the killing of opposition member Dido Kakisingi at a march in Kindu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kakisingi, a lawyer and youth coordinator of political party Ensemble Pour la République (Ensemble) in the province of Maniema was killed during clashes at a political march in the province’s capital on November 28, 2023.
Kakisingi, along with supporters of the political party Ensemble, was attending in support of opposition candidate, Moise Katumbi ahead of presidential elections.
But the rally did not go as planned – most tragically for Kakisingi.
Less than a month after Kakisingi died, incumbent Félix Tshisekedi won the election amid reports of repression and arrests of rival politicians and violence against demonstrators and journalists.
The conviction of two suspects comes as supporters and family of Kakisingi continue to seek justice for his killing. Those family members say at least 14 other people involved in the violence should be arrested and questioned by police.
A number of misleading reports have spread about the circumstances of Kakisingi’s killing.
With efforts at achieving justice ongoing, Bellingcat looked back at the available open source evidence to see what it shows about how exactly the march unfolded.
Main Venue for Political Rallies Closed Ahead of the Opposition’s Arrival
It had long been common for political rallies to be held in central Kindu at the Tribune Centrale de Kindu, a large covered area located on one of the city’s main roads.
For instance President Tshisekedi held an election rally there on November 23, 2023, a few days prior to the fatal march.
However, local media reported that Kindu’s mayor temporarily closed the Tribune Centrale de Kindu for repairs days before two opposition candidates were scheduled to hold rallies there. Opposition figures complained that the decision was politically motivated.
Footage posted by Ensemble showed presidential candidate and party leader Katumbi landing at Kindu Airport by private jet, a Dassault Falcon 900.
FlightRadar showed the jet landing in Kindu at 10:29 UTC (12:29 CAT, as Kindu is in the Central Africa Time zone, two hours ahead of UTC).
Opposition leader Katumbi, wearing a distinctive blue fedora, is seen descending from the jet.
Supporters met him at the airport and began the march, traveling south out of the airport down Joseph Kabila Boulevard, a wide street with a distinctive line of trees in the center. At some point, Kakisingi joined the procession, though it is not possible to determine from the available open source evidence if this was at the airport or along Joseph Kabila Boulevard.
The March Begins and Kakisingi is Killed
Less than three kilometres from the airport, between 1:00 and 2:00 pm local time, and approximately 60 metres from the Joseph Kabila monument (-2.939020, 25.924275), violence broke out during the march.
Footage from this area shows Kakisingi lying in blood on the street, his shirt has been torn and is dirtied.
People surround him, some are filming. A massive amount of blood has pooled beneath him, but his position in the video obscures the injury (Warning: very graphic image).
It’s possible that the killing of Kakisingi caused people to start fleeing, and was the first time violence broke out, but the sequence of events remains unclear as the videos posted by the opposition Ensemble are not in chronological order.
Where did Kakisingi Die?
We geolocated the location of his body here -2.939462, 25.924047 by matching the houses seen in the background of the footage.
A central line of trees and the position and shape of nearby roofs helped to determine the position of his body.
Rival Supporters Meet as the March Continues
It’s unknown why the march didn’t stop after Kakisingi’s death. Following the incident the march splits, with the front of the crowd continuing, and people further back lingering around Kakisingi’s body or dispersing. Most of the crowd appears to continue to move south along Joseph Kabila Boulevard.
In a video posted on X, people wearing clothing with pictures of DRC President Tshisekedi can be seen gathering further along the road.
(the party of incumbent President Tshisekedi). Green arrow part of original video and not added by Bellingcat. Credit: X.
Some individuals pick up rocks and appear to await the arrival of Katumbi’s march as it slowly proceeds. A number of people, including a man wearing a T-shirt featuring Tshisekedi, can also be seen picking up and throwing rocks as opposition figures approach.
The two groups eventually become intermixed on the street (seen at 1:21 in this video uploaded by MaishaRDC). Rival flags – one of Ensemble and one of Tshisekedi’s party UDPS can be seen on opposite sides of the road around this time as clashes continue. Audio from the scene appears to capture the sound of rocks bouncing off objects in the street.
We could not confirm exactly when the MaishaRDC video was filmed, but the location is approximately 135 metres south of where Kakisingi’s lifeless body was pictured. The crowd is moving in the same direction that the march was heading, suggesting it was filmed after Kakisingi’s death (-2.94083, 25.92372).
The following image shows the position of the videographer:
In the videos, people are running, carrying sticks, and throwing rocks.
Shots Fired by Security Forces
When the march was more than 500m from the Joseph Kabila statue shots were fired. We geolocated this footage this footage here (-2.94372, 25.92365).
The same shots can be heard in two different recordings. This footage from 00:52 to 00:57 shows protesters fleeing amid gunshots (the footage was filmed and edited by the opposition and contains some jump cuts, which means it is not a continuous stream).
There is a second video showing another point of view of the same moment.
A number of what appear to be the Police Nationale Congolaise (Congolese National Police, or PNC) can be seen holding firearms and looking towards the marchers. Several shots can also be heard in close proximity to the marchers, although it is not clear exactly where the shots are coming from.
Amid the gunshots, Katumbi marchers, accompanied by vehicles that slow down to give them cover, turn left onto Avenue Lufunhula.
A third video, showing the same intersection but from a different viewpoint (note that this video is mirrored), seems to show both the gunshots and Katumbi’s continuing presence at the march. Katumbi and his security guards appear to be looking towards the direction of gunshots in the footage.
Protest Ends
Eventually, the marchers return to Avenue Joseph Kabila, passing in front of the Palais De Justice De Kindu (-2.947390, 25.924925).
It concluded at Place Matata Ponyo also known as Place Mapon (-2.96263, 25.91809). The march likely covered approximately 6.5 kilometres in total, although no video emerged during their detour on Avenue Lufunhula – the marchers are only seen again when they return to Avenue Joseph Kabila. At Place Mapon, Katumbi then gave a speech, returned to the airport, and flew to his next engagement.
The Aftermath
After the march, a number of theories spread about how Kakisingi died.
The lack of clarity about how exactly he died led to speculation online. The authorities have still not released details of Kakisingi’s autopsy, so it is still yet to be confirmed whether he died by gunfire, rocks or a combination. In this vacuum of information some pro-Rwanda groups claimed that President Tshisekedi ordered the police to shoot Kakisingi. Although we can see that supporters of Tshisekedi clashed with opposition members on the day of the march, including throwing rocks, we could not confirm exactly who was responsible for his killing.
In the days after the incident, Kakisingi’s fellow lawyers marched in protest, and his funeral was held on December 1 with the opposition leader in attendance.
In the months after, Katumbi lost the presidential election to the incumbent Tshisekedi.
On January 16, 2024, four men were arrested in relation to the death of Kakisingi. At the time, only one of the suspects was named in the press. His arrest was filmed.
Olembo Kipalamoto and another man, Ismael Munanga, were convicted of murder on October 30, 2024, as reported by Agence Congolaise de Presse, and sentenced to five years in prison.
Advocates for the family are still demanding the questioning of 14 other suspects, with local media reporting that arrest warrants had been issued for these men.
Manon McGuigan contributed translation and research to this piece.
Riccardo, Sarah, and Manon are founding members of CongoEye, a group founded via Bellingcat’s Discord Server. CongoEye is dedicated to examining events in the Democratic Republic of Congo using open-source research methodologies. Learn more about CongoEye at Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/congoeye.com] and Medium [https://medium.com/@congoeye].
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