Local group joins picket against Congolese embassy attack

#NotInMyName recently joined a protest outside the DRC embassy in Arcadia to raise the awareness of the continued assault on the Banyamulenge.

Banyamulenge is understood to be a Tutsi community in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo whose statelessness has led to decades-long violence in the region and the Gatumba massacre in 2004.

The group, which is seeking a new home in South Africa, now fears the violence is following it to the capital in Pretoria.

The group claims “vigilantes” attacked its member inside the DRC embassy on Valentine’s Day.

It didn’t give further detail.

“We fear that the torture and killings we face back home will follow us here,” said Banyamulenge SA president Chantal Mabeyi.

“If someone can be beaten inside the embassy, imagine what can happen to them outside.”

The protesting group last Friday included the Banyamulenge, the local civil group and Pan African Desk.

#NotInMyName spokesperson Mo Senne said: “Attacks against Banyamulenge in the DRC (and now South Africa) are, in part, a result of hate speech including incitement to commit genocide.

“NotInMyName is gravely concerned because the campaigns to demonise the community have exacerbated the violence to lynching and the eating parts of the victim’s body, as witnessed on a graphic video we cannot circulate.”

The picket under the theme, “third time won’t be a charm” aimed to bring the attention to another attack had taken place in the in the embassy before.

“We identified with their struggle more so because of the Marikana and Sharpeville massacres that continue to torment us today. We, therefore, did not hesitate to intervene when we heard of the second assault in the DRC embassy… on South African soil in Pretoria earlier this month,” Senne continued.

NotInMyName also took part in the 16th commemoration of the Gatumba massacre about 30 months ago.

In August 2004, 166 members of the Congolese Banyamulenge community were killed in Gatumba, a small town in Burundi near the border with DRC.

Banyamulenge SA spokesperson Alex Mpundu said that the group was still seeking justice for the previous atrocities and the current ones still taking place across the continent.

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“All we want is peace. We are not crying for jobs or for electricity or for anything, we just want to live in peace. This attack shows that no Banyamulenge is safe anywhere if this can happen twice at an embassy,” said Mpundu.

The stakeholders said they regularly check with the police on the progress on the previous assault case and that they hope to send a stern message that hate speech or violence will not be tolerated on South African soil.

“If there is no intervention which condemns these acts, a third attack in South Africa will be more than just assault; it will escalate to cannibalism. Our request is clear: investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for the attacks against our members inside the Embassy of the DRC in Pretoria,” Senne concluded.

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