Tshikapa: the repression of a peaceful demonstration to lower the cost of water
On Friday, June 9, 2023, the Fight for Change (LUCHA) movement organized a peaceful march in the city of Tshikapa to protest against the rising cost of connection to REGIDESO, the city’s water distribution company. This movement also demanded access to drinking water in Kele hill. However, the demonstration was banned by the city’s mayor, who deployed the police to disperse the protesters.
Despite the prior steps with REGIDESO to find solutions to the rising costs, the activists decided to organize this demonstration to express their dissatisfaction. The banners brandished during this peaceful march denounced the REGIDESO fraud and demanded access to drinking water for Kele hill.
The protest was spiraling out of control and LUCHA activists were already gathering in Kele at the 3z roundabout in full march. That’s when the police intervened, using tear gas and live ammunition to force the protesters to disperse. Several people were arrested and the reporting equipment of some journalists was confiscated.
This violent crackdown on the peaceful LUCHA protest in Tshikapa highlights the need for open and constructive dialogue among all stakeholders to find lasting solutions to the population’s problems. Such a dialogue must focus on the means of guaranteeing equitable access to drinking water for all citizens, as well as on the revision of the costs of connection to REGIDESO in the interest of the population.
The importance of this dialogue and the resolution of such problems cannot be overestimated, since drinking water is an essential resource for the life and health of all citizens. Hopefully the Tshikapa authorities and REGIDESO officials will hear the protesters’ demands and work together to find compromise solutions for the benefit of all.