The city of Kamako has been in turmoil since Monday, June 5: eight people including two women were arrested by the local police. The reason: they would be part of a gang that kidnaps Congolese children to resell them in Angola. The victims are often used for prostitution or for fetishistic practices.
The local civil society, which revealed the information, specifies that some of those arrested have already confessed, while the others are still under interrogation. The arrests took place in two stages. Two members of the network were on their way to Angola and two children managed to escape from their executioners and denounced their captors. The other six resided in Kamako.
The border town of Kamako has long been a hub for traffickers of children from the DRC. According to civil society, nearly ten children have been kidnapped since the beginning of the year and many suspects have fled for lack of means of transport to transfer them to the competent judge.
The DRC, faced with many challenges, must respond to this new threat to the safety of children. Congolese authorities must put in place child protection measures to prevent such practices from happening again