Middle East and Africa | Death threats

Congo brings back the death penalty

And it is cracking down on government critics

A M23 rebel leans on a vehicle in Kibumba in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Trouble in the eastPhotograph: Getty Images
|KINSHASA

Critics of Congo’s government are on edge—and for good reason. Last month the justice ministry said it was bringing back the death penalty, ending a moratorium that had been in place since 2003, in order to “rid our country’s army of traitors” and to “stem the resurgence of acts of terrorism and urban banditry”.

Restoring capital punishment is, in part, a reaction to the desperate situation in eastern Congo, where the M23 rebel group has surrounded the city of Goma. The conflict with M23, which is backed by Rwanda, has forced more than a million people from their homes, most of whom now live in squalid conditions crammed around Goma. Congo’s army is on the back foot. “We don’t have a choice,” says Patrick Muyaya, a government spokesman, referring to the death penalty.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Death threats"

The next housing disaster

From the April 13th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Middle East and Africa

The Middle East has a militia problem

More than a quarter of the region’s 400m people live in states dominated by armed groups

How much do Palestinians pay to get out of Gaza?

Middlemen are profiting from Gazans’ desperation


Why Iranian dissidents love Cyrus, an ancient Persian king

The British Museum is sending one of Iran’s adored antiquities to Israel