AFRICA/CONGO RD - “The capture of the leader of the group which attacked us offers hope for peace, but it is necessary to solve the political, economic and social problems which are the cause of tension” Fides learns from the Catholic Archbishop of Mbandaka

Mbandaka (Agenzia Fides)- “I sincerely hope the capture of the leader of the group which attacked the city of Mbandaka will bring peace to our province, but I cannot fail to recall that the existing grave political, economic and social problems must be resolved in order to stabilise the local situation ” Fides learned from Archbishop Joseph Kumuondala Mbimba, of Mbandaka, main city of Equatorial Province, in north west Democratic Republic of Congo, which was attacked by a group of rebels on Easter Sunday, 4 April, (see Fides 9/4/2010).
On 5 May Ondjani Mangbama, military leader of the group which carried out the attack on Mbandaka and which has been causing havoc in Equatorial Province for several months, was caught by the people of Dongo and handed over to the police, according to a statement made by the Minister of Communications, Lambert Mende.
Ondjani Mangbama is the son of Ibrahim Mangbama, the political leader of the Nzobo Yalobo group, which later took a more congenial name (Mouvement de Libération indépendante des Alliés). “Ibrahim Mangbama claims he has "magic" powers, which he has handed on to his son, powers that render his men practically invincible ” Archbishop Kumuondala Mbimba, recalls .
The group members belong mainly to the Enyele tribe which for some time has had a dispute with another tribe, the Monzaya, over control of fish-rich lakes in the area. However the DRC government affirms that when Mangbama's men attacked Mbandaka they were backed by other forces. The authorities in Kinshasa accuse former members of the FAR (disbanded Zaire Armed Forces, the army of the old dictator Mobutu, overthrown in 1997), and in particular the Special Presidential Division (Mobutu's praetorian guard ), as well as elements connected to Jean-Pierre Bemba, the principal rival of President Kabila in the last election, presently detained by the International Penal Court for crimes committed in Central African Republic.
Guerrilla warfare waged by Mangbama's group forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee the Province, many of whom took refuge in Congo Brazzaville (see Fides 5/5/2010). Their return is however conditioned by the reestablishment not only of conditions of security but also of economic and social structures destroyed in the fighting. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 7/5/2010)