Zaire: Update to Response to Information Request ZAR1271, on the situation of Kasaiens today
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ZAR14904 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Zaire: Update to Response to Information Request ZAR1271, on the situation of Kasaiens today, 1 August 1993, ZAR14904, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aac41c.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. |
Despite President Mobutu's 24 April 1990 statement opening up the political system to multiparty politics, repression of popular political activity and intimidation of political opponents has increased across the country (News from Africa Watch 7 July 1992, 5-20). Kasaians in Shaba (Katanga) province have borne the brunt of this increase in political control, for the following reasons.
Shaba is the richest province in Zaire and home to copper, cobalt and zinc industries that earn 70 to 75 per cent of the country's export earnings (News from Africa Watch June 1993, 3). Kasaians have lived in Shaba province for generations, and at least two out of every five people in Shaba come from the Kasai region (Ibid.). As a result of its wealth the province has attracted people from across Zaire, and its importance to the economy of Zaire has made Shaba key to the country's political history (Ibid.). Violence against Kasaians in Shaba began in the fall of 1991 and by the end of 1992 these attacks had reached high proportions (Ibid., 9). Kasaian homes and property were attacked during that period (Ibid.). Since the assumption of the post of prime minister by Etienne Tshisikedi, the attacks on Kasaians have intensified and their mass expulsion from Shaba has continued (Ibid., 12).
News from Africa Watch reports that since 1991, these attacks on Kasaians have been supported by President Mobutu, Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumawanza the governor of Shaba (Katanga) province, and Jean Nguz a Karl-i-Bond. Karl-i-Bond who was a prime minister of Shaba origin was replaced in October 1992 by Etienne Tshisikedi, a Kasai of the Union pour la Démocratie et le Progress Social (UDPS) (Ibid.). The attacks therefore appear to be linked to political events leading up to the assumption of the post of prime minister by Tshisikedi (News from Africa Watch 7 July 1992, 5-20).
According to News from Africa Watch, the violence against Kasaians was a planned effort by President Mobutu to shift public anger from himself to Kasaians who are closely identified with an opposition that wants him out of the presidency (June 1993, 23). The president reportedly supported Karl-i-Bond and Governor Kyungu of Shaba in their inflammatory attacks on the Kasai, and there is no evidence that he was not unhappy about the movement against Kasaians in Shaba (Ibid., 5, 23). For example, Shaba politicians have described Kasaians in Shaba as the "enemy within," "foreigners [who] must not forget their status," "warlike, dishonest, power hungary and arrogant" (Ibid., 6). "Regional purity" against Kasaians was promoted as well, as it was generally believed that uprooting Kasaians from Shaba would give their jobs to "Katangese" (Ibid.). Representatives from News from Africa Watch visited Shaba province in March 1993 and they collected enough evidence to conclude that there was a deliberate effort to uproot Kasaians from Shaba (Ibid., 7).
News from Africa Watch states that national and regional authorities did not make an effort to stop the violence or to resettle Kasaians in their homes after the expulsions from Shaba province (Ibid., 19). For more details on the attacks against Kasaians in Shaba and the origins of these attacks, please refer to the attachments from News from Africa Watch. The attached DIRB and IRBDC Question and Answer Series Papers Zaire: Chronology of Significant Events June 1960-September 1992 and Zaire: The Student Movement may be useful.
Additional and/or corroborative information on the requested subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB in Ottawa.
References
News from Africa Watch [New York]. June 1992. Vol. 5, No. 10. "Zaire: Inciting Hatred: Violence Against Kasaiens in Shaba."
. 7 July 1992. Vol. 4, No. 9. "Zaire: Two Years Without Transition."
Attachments
Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board, Ottawa. November 1992. Zaire: Chronology of Significant Events June 1960-September 1992.
Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre (IRBDC), Ottawa. December 1990. Zaire: The Student Movement.
News from Africa Watch [New York]. June 1992. Vol. 5, No. 10. Zaire: Inciting Hatred: Violence Against Kasaiens in Shaba."
. 7 July 1992. Vol. 4, No. 9. "Zaire: Two Years Without Transition."
