Five Bafulero and one Congolese government soldier were killed after in a
deadly conflict opposing members of the Congolese Burundian community and
Maï Maï from the Bafulero tribe.
<img4842|right>This bloody conflict has been fuelled by the denial by Bafulero of legitimacy of the Barundi kingdom established in Ruzizi Valley. Fights took place in Mutarure in the Luberizi District. One source indicates that more than 10 people have been seriously wounded during the fights. According to the same source, the wounded are being treated in two hospitals located in Luvungi and Uvira.
A local source confirms that fights lasted more than five hours. “ It is only after 4 p.m. that soldiers who had come from Uvira were able to settle the situation that had started to deteriorate at 10 a.m..”
Bakenga Nabuhoro was lucky to escape from the conflict. “A joint group of Bafulero and Mai Mai came down from the mountain surrounding the region where Burundian community groups are living,” he says.
“The group’s objective was to defile the tomb of the king assassinated in April this year. The objective of Bafulero and Mai Mai combatants was also to capture the new king and occupy the Barundi territory in eastern Congo.
Sitting on his bed at Luvungi hospital, the seventy-year-old man says that Burundians put up a fierce resistance against the Mai Mai, who were armed
with guns and clubs. “What has amazed us is the fact that soldiers did nothing to help us. You would think they were watching a football match,” he says, amused, while preparing to receive a treatment for a serious head wound. This father of eight children confirms that the Barundi were able to counter the Bafulero attack even if they were not using live weapons.
Political reasons behind the incident
A demonstration by the Bafulero on 28 July preceded the attack. The demonstrators chanted slogans calling on the population to revolt against the Burundi king’s authority in the community of the Ruzizi plain. According to one wise man from the region, the Kingdom of the Barundi of the DR Congo has been subject to multiple pressures of the Bafulero tribe refusing its legitimacy for a few days.
Mbunde Gahungu Cheria, adviser to the king, said the Barundi will not leave the territory they have occupied for almost three centuries. He denounces the impunity that followed the release of alleged plotters of the killing of the Barundi king, Floribert Nsabimana Ndabagoye, known as Kinyoni II.
The current traditional king said there are political motives behind this situation. Richard Nijimbere, known by his dynastic name of Kinyoni III, has invited the tribes to stop war and violence in order to develop their region.The 24-year-old king is asking the Kinshasa government to set up a joint dispute resolution commission for the two communities.
After that incident, joint sensitization meetings have been regularly organized in order to ease tensions. Local authorities in collaboration with civil society and traditional elders are disseminating messages of peace and mutual tolerance. For the moment, a delegation from the provincial government of South Kivu is travelling in the region. A member of the provincial authority in the region says a detailed
investigation is being carried out in order to understand what happened.
