Sentencing of 4 of the 9 authors for the rape, amputation and murder of Malenga Ramazani and for the rape of her 13 years old

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

New information:

The International Secretary of OMCT has been informed by reliable sources of the conviction, by the military tribunal under the military auditor of the garrison of Uvira, of four of the nine army members responsible for the rape, murder and genital mutilation of Mrs Malenga Ramazani and for the rape of her 13-year-old daughter, on 13 October 2006, in Kichula, South Kivu.

According to the information, on 22 December 2006, during a public hearing that according to the local NGOs present was conducted in conformity with international standards of impartiality, the Regimental Sergeant major Shabani Maneno and three of his troops – Alexis Masumbuko, Alfani Alooci and Katakwa Mashimango – were found guilty of the rape, mutilation and death of Ms Malenga Ramazani and of the rape of her 13-year-old daughter. They were sentenced to life imprisonment, degraded and expelled from the army. Shabani Maneno was further sentenced to pay a 10 000$ compensation to the girl and her family.

OMCT remains deeply concerned by the impunity of the remaining five army members responsible for these acts, who allegedly fled the DRC, and calls upon the Congolese authorities to undertake all necessary measures to ensure they will be brought to trial.

The 13-year-old girl has benefited from continued medical care through OMCT’s Urgent Assistance to Victims Programme. She was discharged from hospital on 11 January 2007.

Brief reminder of the situation:

On 13 October 2006, in a village of South Kivu, around 3 p.m., Mrs. Malenga Ramazani, 37 years of age, was hoeing in her field with her 13-year-old daughter, when five men belonging to the Congolese Army wearing uniform, led by Shabani Maneno of Brigade n° 118, encircled them. After threatening them, they raped the minor girl and took the mother to the top of the hill « Elahuli n’icupa ». There she was raped repeatedly by 9 men during 3 days until she passed out due to the trauma and pain. Then they shot her in the vagina and started mutilating it before letting her die.

The minor girl succeeded to escape at the time they attacked her mother and called for help. The technical team of Ferufavide-Absl[1] later found the corpse of Mrs Malenga Ramazani and, after gathering evidence, filed a complaint with the family’s authorisation before the competent jurisdiction for the violations perpetrated against the girl and her mother. Suffering from severe physical trauma, the girl was taken to Bujumbura (Burundi) for gynaecological and ophthalmologic care, but could not benefit from sustained medical care at that time due to a lack of financial means.

Remark:

The International Secretary of the OMCT wishes to thank all those individuals and organisations that have written to the Congolese authorities on behalf of the victims and requesting the arrest of those responsible, and calls for continued intervention in this case.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo urging them to:

1. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the girl;
2. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into this case, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal sanctions as provided by law;
3. Guarantee the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the DRC in accordance with international law and human rights standards, including the implementation of the recommendations issued by the Committee against Torture at its 35th session (see item 12 regarding acts of violence against women, CAT/C/RDC/CO/1/CRP.1).

Addresses

• President of the Republic, S.E. Joseph Kabila, Présidence de la République, Kinshasa-Ngaliema, République Démocratique du Congo, E-mail: upp@ic.cd
• Vice-President of the Republic in charge of the Commission Politique, Défense et Sécurité, M. Azarias Ruberwa Manywa, Cabinet du Vice-Président de la République, avenue roi Baudouin ex-3Z, Kinshasa/Gombe, République Démocratique du Congo, Email : vice_presidence.rdc@ic.cd
• Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, M. Ramazani Baya, Cabinet du Ministre, bâtiment du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Kinshasa/Gombe, République Démocratique du Congo
• Minister of Justice, M. Kisimba Ngoy, Ministère de la Justice et Garde des Sceaux, BP 3137, Kinshasa Gombé, République Démocratique du Congo, E-mail: minjustrdc@yahoo.fr
• Minister of Internal Affairs, General Denis Kalume Numbi, Fax: +243 88 02 042, E-mail: mininterieur@yahoo.fr
• Minister of Human Rights, Mme Marie-Madeleine Kalala, Cabinet du Ministre, Boulevard du 30 juin, Kinshasa/Gombe, République Démocratique du Congo, Fax: 00 243 12 20 664, Email: min_droitshumains@yahoo.fr or mindroits_humains@yahoo.fr
• National Observatory for Human Rights (ONDH), Cabinet du Président, avenue Sendwe, Kinshasa/Kalamu, République Démocratique du Congo, Tél: +243 98313740 / + 243 98271199 / + 243 98407633
• M. Théo Kiakwima, Deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency, Tel : + 243 995 8610
• Ambassador, M. Antoine Mindua Kesia-Mbe, Permanent mission of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Avenue de Budé 18, 1202 Genève, Suisse, e-mail : missionrdc@bluewin.ch, Fax : +4122 740.16.82
• Chief of the diplomatic mission for the EU, M. Jean-Pierre Mavungu, Mission permanente de la République du Congo, 6 avenue de Foestraets, 1180 Uccle, Belguim

Please also write to the embassies of Democratic Republic of the Congo in your respective country.

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Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

Geneva, 22 January 2007

[1] Femmes rurales face aux violences et au développement, a local NGO based in South-Kivu.