Sub-Saharan Africa

Vertical Tabs

Congo Research Group, Prevention and Peacebuilding

Reform of the CENI in the DRC: From Necessary Safeguards to the Impossible Task of Depoliticization | Réforme de la Ceni en RDC

A crucial issue in Congolese political life is electoral reform. A new report published by CIC's Congo Research Group focuses on the electoral commission (CENI), the control of which has, despite its mandate, become a key factor in obtaining or retaining power. The report reviews the views of different stakeholders in Congolese political life and demonstrates why it is today unlikely, if not impossible, to be able to completely depoliticize the CENI.

Read more
Jan 07, 2021
Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo Research Group

The Just Transition in Energy

With each new year of data, and each new intergovernmental report, it becomes harder to deny the scale and urgency of the energy transition required to prevent catastrophic anthropogenic climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change urges countries to take action to prevent a rise in temperature by more than 1.5°C, and warns of catastrophic consequences of a rise above 2°C. Yet current policies and pledges fall far short of hitting these targets.

Read more
Dec 18, 2020
Ian Goldin
China, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, United States, South Asia, India, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, West Africa
Crises, International Security
Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies

At least 10 civilians killed by rebels in DR Congo

This Anadolu Agency article mentions the Kivu Security Tracker, a joint project of the Congo Research Group and Human Rights Watch.

"At least 10 civilians have been killed by a Ugandan rebel group in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a conflict monitor group announced Monday. The incident occurred on Sunday night in the town of Mbau, territory of Beni, North-Kivu province, according to the Kivu security tracker," the article notes.

Read more
Sep 21, 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo Research Group

Aide to Congo President Sentenced to 20 Years for Corruption

Bloomberg interviewed Congo Research Group's Fred Bauma about the sentencing of President Felix Tshisekedi's former chief of staff Vital Kamerhe on corruption charges.

“The verdict gives hope to Congolese who continue to decry the theft of their resources by political elites and the impunity they’ve enjoyed until now,” Bauma said. “However, Vital isn’t the only guilty one and justice will be incomplete if he’s the sole person prosecuted and convicted.”

Read more
Jun 20, 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo Research Group

The DRC is riveted by a political thriller

The Institute for Security Studies interviewed Congo Research Group senior researcher Fred Bauma about the corruption case against Vital Kamerhe, President Félix Tshisekedi’s chief of staff.

Read more
Jun 12, 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo Research Group
Rule of Law

For the Army, With the Army, Like the Army? The Rise of Guidon Shimiray and the NDC-Rénové in Eastern Congo

Formerly a small local militia, Guidon Shimiray’s Nduma Defence of Congo-Rénové (NDC-R) is today one of the most powerful armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A new report from CIC's Congo Research Group (CRG) draws on 18 months of fieldwork to provide the first in-depth investigation into the origins of this armed group, showing how it is part of a proxy war led by the Congolese army.

Read more
May 13, 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa
Fragile States, International Security
Congo Research Group

COVID-19 on the African Continent

Congo Research Group director Jason Stearns co-authored this correspondence article in The Lancet modeling the effects of a COVID-19 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"To illustrate the potential burden of SARS-CoV-2 epidemics within the most vulnerable countries in Africa, we simulated a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in DR Congo in the absence of interventions," write Stearns, Chad R. Wells, Pascal Lutumba, and Alison P. Galvani. "Given the high prevalence of comorbidities in DR Congo, as there is in Africa more broadly, the death toll could even be much higher."

Read more
May 06, 2020
Jason Stearns
Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo Research Group
Crises, Humanitarian Crises

SA Advised to Cancel its Commitment to Giant DRC Hydroelectric Power Project, Says New Report

The Daily Maverick covered a new report by CIC's Congo Research Group about South African support for the Inga III hydroelectric project.

"The authors of I Need You, I Don’t Need You conclude that because buying Inga III power doesn’t make economic sense, Pretoria’s commitment appears to be based mainly on foreign policy reasons, including solidarity with the continent," the article observes.

Read more
Mar 20, 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo Research Group
Post 2015 Development

I Need You, I Don’t Need You: South Africa and Inga III

South Africa is preparing to back one of the largest infrastructure projects on the continent: the Inga III hydroelectric dam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A new report from CIC’s Congo Research Group and Phuzumoya Consulting, I Need You, I Don’t Need You: South Africa and Inga III, places South Africa’s backing of Inga III in the context of foreign policy, arguing that the contradictory and uncertain dynamics of South African support for the dam puts into question the bankability—and indeed the feasibility—of the whole project. 

Read more
Mar 19, 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo Research Group

Nearly 200 killed in two eastern DRC provinces last month: monitor

An Agence France-Presse/Yahoo News article references the Kivu Security Tracker, developed by CIC's Congo Research Group and Human Rights Watch. The article quotes the findings that "armed groups and security forces killed at least 197 civilians over the course of the last 31 days of 2019," which made December "the deadliest month for civilian deaths" the tracker has recorded since its creation in 2017.

Read more
Jan 27, 2020
Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo Research Group

Related Publications

Pages