The Louba tribe and the treatment of Jehovah's Witnesses in Zaire
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ZAR1514 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, The Louba tribe and the treatment of Jehovah's Witnesses in Zaire, 1 July 1989, ZAR1514, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac2034.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
1) Documentation Refugiés states that 18.O% of the population of Zaire is Louba [ Documentation Refugiés, Supplement to No. 43, 9/18 July 1988, (Paris:1988), p. 4.] (this tribe is spelled Luba in english). Amnesty International reported that in 1986 the ethnic group Balubalolo were one of the ethnic groups suspected by the Zairian army of guerrilla activity in the Moba region of Shaba province. [ Amnesty International, ZAIRE report of torture and killings committed by the armed forces in Shaba Region, (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1986), p. 9.] Attached are additional articles on the human rights situation in Zaire.
2) According to the Minority Rights Group report Jehovah's Witness in Africa, as of 1983 there were 28,126 active Jehovah's witnesses in Zaire. [ The Minority Rights Group, Jehovah's Witnesses in Africa, Report No. 29, (London: Expedite Graphics Limited, 1984), p.15.] The same report mentions that "the sect was illegal under Belgian rule, as it was held responsible ... for the 1961 Luba rebellion and proscribed in 1966." [ Ibid., p. 3.] Amnesty International reported in 1980 that "in 1971 President Mobutu signed a law limiting the number of sects permitted to practice in Zaire. ... certain groups such as the Jehovah's Witness (some of whom are known as Kitawalistes in Zaire) have never been officially recognized. Since 1971, Jehovah's Witnesses have been arrested and detained without trial for periods of from several months to several years." [Amnesty International, Human Rights Violations In Zaire an Amnesty International Report, (London: Amnesty International, 1980), p. 6.] The 1987 Amnesty International Report states that "[i]n March the Jehovah's Witness sect, which had been legalized in 1980, was banned. Amnesty International received reports of the detention without trial of Jehovah's Witnesses in Shaba region, and it appeared that arrests also occurred in other parts of the country. Efforts were also made to enforce legislation which prohibited other religious sects not officially recognized by the government from practising their religion. [ Amnesty International, 1987 Report Amnesty International, (London: Amnesty International, 1987), p. 119.]
