The High Military Court recorded the appearance of Deputy Divisional Commissioner Placide Nyembo, former police chief in North Kivu, this Friday, June 9. He came as an informant in the case involving MP Edouard Mwangachuchu. The latter is accused of having maintained relations with the M23 rebels.
The magistrates questioned him about securing the mine of the Société Mining de Bisunzu (SMB) in Masisi (North Kivu). According to Placide Nyembo, 86 police officers were responsible for this task. He clarified that these elements have been divided into two teams to take turns in the field. The effective presence was 43 police officers considered necessary and provided for in the contract signed with the SMB.
The version of the deputy divisional commissioner agrees with that of the chief commissioner Robert Mushamalirwa, co-defendant of Mwangachuchu, who had already testified on this subject. That said, this goes against what Divisional Commissioner Vital Umiya Awashango had said as an informant. According to Vital Awashango, the unit was made up of about 20 police officers each receiving US$90 in compensation.
Deputy Commissioner Placide Nyembo also explained that he had signed the list of 86 elements, but it is not his responsibility to engage them in the field. It was more the task of the commander who assigned his elements to the positions they needed. The high military court also addressed other administrative aspects, such as the remuneration of the police officers of the SMB security unit. The conclusions of the General Police Inspectorate indicated that only 43 elements were included on the payroll instead of 86.
As a reminder, Édouard Mwangachuchu and his co-defendant are prosecuted for treason, participation in an insurrectionary movement, espionage and illegal possession of weapons of war. The investigations were opened following the discovery of weapons of war in the residence of the deputy in Kinshasa and in the premises of the SMB in Masisi in North Kivu