Open letter to His Excellency the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix-Antoine TSHISEKEDI TSHILOMBO.
(with the expression of our most respectful respects)
Kinshasa, March 07, 2022
Subject : Serious violations of the rights and freedoms of Mr François Beya Kasonga at the ANR.
Excellency the President of the Republic,
Since your ascendance as President of the Republic in January 2019, after 18 years in President Joseph Kabila’s regime, the Democratic Republic of Congo has experienced its first peaceful transfer of power.
Your arrival as the head of state of the Congo was hailed throughout the country and by the international community. It had raised hopes amongst the Congolese population to see the Congo begin a path towards the rule of law.
You have made the concept of the rule of law yours, which supposes the pre-eminence, in a State, of the law over the public authorities and the respect of everyone, governors and governed, for the law. In this perspective, public power is subject to the law.
Three years after you acceded to power, there was a clear difference between you and the KABILA regime. You have begun your presidency by emphasising the human rights situation in the country. However, the ongoing violations of these rights under your presidency raises serious concerns leading to fears of a significant setback in the rule of law. In view of this worrying observation, the Free François BEYA KASONGA Collective wishes to send you this letter.
The Free François BEYA KASONGA Collective is a de facto association bringing together people who promote justice and peace. They are Human Rights Defenders working at home and abroad to campaign and mobilise the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights.
Indeed, this collective was born following the arbitrary arrest and detention of your Special Security Advisor, Mr. François BEYA KASONGA, by the Security services, without a warrant.
Mr. Jean-Hervé MBELU BIOSHA, current General Administrator of the National Intelligence Agency « ANR » in the acronym and some of his agents, elements of the Military Detection of Anti-Homeland Activities, DEMIAP, as well as the Commander of the 14th military region General ILONDO, arrested François BEYA KASONGA on February 5, 2022, in his residence, although ill, on instructions from the leadership. They took him, manu militari, to the premises of the ANR.
He would be accused of having participated in activities that undermined the State’s internal security and of attempting to destabilise Institutions.
There are a number of theories surrounding this arrest that have flourished in public opinion space, evoking an attempted coup d’etat, which is totally false and not plausible.
During his televised address on the national channel RTNC on February 8, 2022, concerning Francois Beya Kasonga’s arrest amids of the general outcry that this affair has aroused among the Congolese population, your spokesperson, Tharcisse KASONGO MWEMA, declared that the investigators had « serious evidence attesting to the actions against national security. »
Investigations have thus far yielded no results and, above all, have established no charge against François BEYA KASONGA. The lack of evidence fuels doubts in the Congolese and international population about the reality of the charges against him. With the absence of the synchronised facts, it will be difficult for the Congolese populace to bring charges against François BEYA KASONGA. In this regard, the Collective has regularly pointed out that the arbitrary arrest and detention of François BEYA KASONGA can be explained in particular by a war of palaces, within the Congolese Presidency, following his management of a mining conflict involving another presidential adviser, Mr. Fortunat BISELELE and the former president of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( Ceni ), Corneille NANGAA, to name but a few.
This palace war is further relayed by Jeune Afrique in its article of December 1, 2021 entitled “DRC: Beya, Biselele, Nangaa … Discreet palace war in the first circle of Tshisekedi ” , by AfricaReport in its article of December 2, 2021 entitled DRC: A discreet palace war is taking place within Tshisekedi’sinner circle , or by Africa Intelligence in its article of January 10, 2022 entitled » Felix Tshisekedi’s innercircle in a panic over mining deal dispute ”.
Mr. President of the Republic,
During your investiture speech to the Supreme Court on January 24, 2019, you expressed your desire to establish the application of « the rule of law, » a passion that we, Defenders of Human Rights, applauded, as we turn our backs on the evil practices of injustice long decried by you and us, against your predecessors, who have made injustice a modus operandi of public governance.
In reference to your interview on Radio Top Congo on December 22, 2018, you affirmed, without a shadow of a doubt, that from the first day of your accession to the Presidency, all the dungeons, including those of the ANR, would be immediately closed.
But it is regrettable, Mr. President of the Republic; we note that the promises of change are struggling to materialise since your arrival as the leader of our country. In this respect, injustice becomes more and more a daily experience. We are almost systematically witnessing severe violations of the rights and freedoms of the Congolese people by the security services. These violations are reminiscent of those that took place in a system that we fought together yesterday with tenacity and courage.
The Free François BEYA KASONGA Collective would like to remind you that the security services must work for the people. However, these services which regularly violate the Constitution and the laws of the Republic by illicit methods and practices do not allow us to speak of an accurate and the true rule of law under your presidency. We would have liked this state of affairs not to take place, as you were our hope.
Even more worrying today, more than thirty days have passed since your close colleague, Mr. François BEYA KASONGA, was detained following an irregular and arbitrary arrest by the National Intelligence Agency (ANR). Yet, to this day, he does not benefit from any appropriate legal, judicial or medical assistance while he is ill and his health is deteriorating further. Worse still, he is not even allowed to speak to his family.
It is sad to see that these facts are happening under your so-called “rule of law” mandate.
The Collective challenges you on the severe and systematic violations that Mr. MBELU BIOSHA, current General Administrator of the ANR, is committing in this case. Besides, his appointment stemmed from your desire to change and humanise this service.
The violations suffered by Mr. François BEYA KASONGA would risk tarnishing your image as the supervisory authority of this agency and, above all, would indicate that you are using these services for the purposes of political enforcements. These security services which you qualified at the time as political police instruments. Your intervention, in this case, will be a very commendable act in the face of the injustice he is currently experiencing (see the Collective’s open letter sent on March 4, 2022 to the ANR GA, Mr. MBELU BIOSHA ).
Mr. President of the Republic,
The Collective is concerned about the danger to Mr. François BEYA KASONGA well-being. In the absence of concrete charges against Mr. François BEYA KASONGA with regard to the Coup d’Etat, the Collective disapproves of the practices of the National Intelligence Agency which would aim to manufacture and mount false evidence that can be charged to it with a view to drive him straight to a judge and get an excessive sentence thereafter.
In addition, the Collective was informed, from reliable sources, that some close colleagues of Mr. François BEYA KASONGA and certain advisers to the Presidency of the Republic would be consulted in order to obtain from them false confessions and testimonies on their alleged participation in a so-called coup d’etat against your power, the initiator of which would be Mr. François BEYA KASONGA.
Thus, the Free François BEYA KASONGA Collective wonders about the reason for the framing of the arbitrarily detained.The collective wants to draws your attention to the danger facing by this brave compatriot who has demonstrated his loyalty through his services to you and the Congolese State for more than four decades.
The Collective is concerned that this type of practice of creating false files and framing innocents will continue throughout your Presidency.
Since the irregular and arbitrary arrest of François BEYA KASONGA, the Collective has noted the severe and systematic violation of his rights and freedoms by Mr. MBELU BIOSHA of the ANR.
The Collective strongly denounced such violations that it considers non-compliant with the legal and regulatory provisions in this matter.
It is believed that this arbitrary arrest followed by prolonged detention contravenes, to this day, the Constitution and the laws of our country as well as the international instruments duly ratified by our country: the Universal Convention of Human Rights and the African Charter of Human Rights, to name but a few.
Mr. President of the Republic,
The Free François BEYA KASONGA Collective considers that the arrest mentioned above and detention do not confirm this desire for change and humanisation of the security services.
In this regard, the Collective Free François BEYA KASONGA believes that the ANR’s investigative missions to ensure State security must imperatively be carried out in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of the country to advocate the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights.
From the above, the Free François BEYA KASONGA Collective implores Your personal involvement, as Father of the Nation and Guarantor of the proper functioning of the institutions, for the immediate and unconditional release of the latter, of his private secretary Mr. Guy VANDA , his protocol David CIKAPA as well as his bodyguard Jean-Pierre KALENGA, in the absence of concrete and actual charges.
Finally, the Collective considers that the BEYA affair could permanently tarnish the image of the ANR under your mandate because it makes François BEYA KASONGA a political prisoner of the new regime, a regime that he served honourably.
Thanking you for the action to be taken on this letter, please accept, Excellency the President of the Republic, the expression of our most sincere considerations.
For the Free Collective François BEYA KASONGA
Human rights activist and defender
Me Marie-Thérèse NLANDU
Attorney
Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience 2006-2007 (DRC)
FREE FRANCOIS BEYA KASONGA 
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