Floribert Chebeya

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Floribert Chebeya Bahizire (born September 13, 1963 in Bukavu , † June 2, 2010 in Kinshasa ) was the head of the Congolese human rights organization Voix des Sans Voix (VSV) ( German  voice of the voiceless ), one of the largest human rights organizations in the country and since the 1990s one of the leading human rights activists in the Congo.

Live and act

Chebeya had campaigned for the constitutional rights of the Congolese and the improvement of conditions in prisons. In 1992 he received the Reebok Human Rights Award for his services in the fight against the dictatorship of the then dictator Mobutu Sese Seko , his fight for democracy and human rights but also continued under the subsequent presidents. He had been arrested, tortured and only released under international pressure several times, most recently in March 2009. He was murdered on the night of June 2, 2010, which aroused outrage not only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but worldwide. For example, the Secretary General of the United Nations , Ban Ki-moon , described himself in a statement as "deeply shocked" by the murder. Another UN official said that the circumstances of Chebeya's death suggest extrajudicial execution by official bodies. More than 50 human rights organizations called for an independent investigation into the circumstances of his death.

Circumstances and possible background to his murder

Chebeya's body was discovered in a suburb of Kinshasa the day after his disappearance. According to the organization Voix des sans Voix , he had previously been called to a meeting with police chief John Numbi . However, it is unclear whether this meeting took place. His wife received the last sign of life from him as a text message stating that he had now arrived at the police headquarters. The fate of his driver Fidele Bazana is unclear, he was not found. According to his lawyer, Chebeya had promised him material about massacres by the Congo security forces in the province of Bas-Congo in 2007 and 2008, which led to charges in Belgium and others. a. against the Congolese interior minister Denis Kalume and the above-mentioned police chief John Numbi. Two days after the murder, the police chief of intelligence was arrested and confessed to having committed the murder on orders. Police chief and General John Numbi was shortly thereafter suspended from duty and several police officers were arrested. John Numbi was previously a close confidante of the Congolese President Joseph Kabila .

In the process that followed, the chief of the police intelligence service and three fugitive soldiers were sentenced to death. However, the death penalty is no longer carried out in the Congo.

In 2012 Thierry Michel published the documentary “ The Chebeya Affair: A State Crime? “Which deals with Chebeya's life and death and the murder trial.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ peopledaily.com
  2. ↑ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/obituary/65247
  3. ↑ http://www.paxchristi.de/news/kurzmeldung/one.news.km/index.html?entry=page.news.km.664  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was created automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.paxchristi.de  
  4. ↑ a b taz article "Like in a bad crime thriller" from June 28, 2010
  5. ↑ http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/7012216.html
  6. ↑ http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/06/201066151023866458.html
  7. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10223564.stm
  8. ↑ http://www.taz.de/1/politik/afrika/artikel/1/weiter-suspendierung-nach-mord/
personal data
SURNAME Chebeya, Floribert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chebeya Bahizire, Floribert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Congolese human rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH September 13, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Bukavu
DATE OF DEATH June 2, 2010
Place of death Kinshasa