Q: You have also been accused of war crimes, especially in Kisangani [the capital of the northeastern Orientale Province]. Is this why you declined to join the army because you feared you could be prosecuted? A: I have nothing to do with Kisangani situation. I was under the command of the [former rebel movement] Rassemblement Congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) and the first people to be asked about such incidences are Azarias Ruberwa (leader of RCD-Goma and one of the DRCs four vice-presidents), Sylvie Buki [chief of staff of the land forces] and not me. I was under a command of a top officer and so I should not mention anything on this issue. Let my superiors answer that. Q: But did you kill innocent civilians? A: Its not even me who conducted this war. I was in Kisangani under a commander, and I know we did not kill civilians. But certainly there were civilians who were killed in the crossfire. Q: Some local NGOs and the UN accused your forces of rape and looting during the fighting in Bukavu. What is your response? A: I cannot say there was no robbing or looting. What I did was to arrest many soldiers even those of [Gen] Mbuza Mabe [commander of the 10th Military Region] and asked MONUC [the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC] to go and see them. But, certainly, my soldiers left with nothing from Bukavu when we withdrew.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 10:43:30 +0000
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