Fatshimetrie, October 13, 2024 – A call for vigilance is being heard in Matete, a commune in the heart of Kinshasa, in the face of the worrying resurgence of urban banditry. The mayor of the municipality, Jules Mukumbi, made this call during an interview this Saturday.
According to the data collected, many former detainees released from Makala central prison have returned to the neighborhoods of Matete. This alarming situation has prompted local authorities to request increased vigilance from law enforcement.
“We have recorded the presence of at least a fifth of these former detainees in our neighborhoods. Unfortunately, many of them have not given up their criminal activities. In the event of flagrante delicto, we will not hesitate to apprehend them and hand them over to the competent authorities. Most of these individuals are repeat offenders that we know well,” said the mayor.
He also mentioned a recent incident where six individuals, referred to as “Kuluna”, were arrested in the act of violence against a woman. This decisive action allowed them to be placed at the disposal of the police. However, the mayor emphasizes that the solution to the scourge of urban banditry lies in the training and supervision of young people involved in these uncivil activities.
Rather than keeping them in detention, he advocates an approach of reintegration and using their skills for community service. This vision is illustrated by the successful retraining of uncivilized people trained at the Kanyama Kasese center, in the South-East of the country.
At the same time, neighborhood and street leaders are encouraged to organize awareness sessions to raise awareness among young people and encourage them to abandon their deviant behavior. This is an essential preventive approach to curb the urban banditry that is rampant in the city of Kinshasa.
In another register, the commune of Mont-Ngafula, west of Kinshasa, has also been the scene of recent burglaries. Residents testify to the thefts committed during the night, leaving behind a wave of shock and insecurity within the community. Local authorities have been alerted and investigations are underway to identify the culprits.
Faced with these persistent challenges, collaboration between the population, local authorities and security forces remains essential to guarantee the security and tranquility of the affected neighborhoods.
In these troubled times, collective mobilization and the vigilance of each person are the guarantors of an effective response to the urban banditry that is rife in the streets of Kinshasa.