The Kidnapping Business: Criminality in Eastern Democratic of Congo

By Justin Mwetaminwa ǀ Marc-André Lagrange and Thierry Vircoulon

Over the past seven years, kidnapping has become a widespread business in North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Members of all segments of society are kidnapped, and many people – not only the members of armed groups – have become kidnappers. This policy brief shows how this crime has developed and how the uncertain political context of 2016–2018 worsened this phenomenon. In its analysis of who kidnappers target and how they operate, this paper underscores the importance of telephone money-transfer systems and the passivity of the police and judicial authorities. Some authorities, particularly in the military, are even complicit in kidnappings. Kivuans, therefore, distrust the security forces, and the community has mobilized to put pressure on the authorities to demand justice.

Geneva, SWIT: The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2023. 20p.