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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

CASE N° ZRE/25 - Joseph Oleghankoy
CASE N° ZRE/26 - Eugène Diomi Ndongala Nzomambu

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 165th session (Berlin, 16 October 1999)


The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case of Mr. Joseph Olenghankoy and Mr. Eugène Diomi Ndongala Nzomambu, members of the High Council of the Republic - Transitional Parliament (HCR­TP) dissolved in May 1997, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/165/12(b)­R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 164th session (April 1999),

Recalling that Mr. Olenghankoy, National President of the Innovatory Forces for Union and Solidarity (FONUS) and, according to the source, the most popular opposition leader in the eyes of many, was arrested at his office on 20 January 1998 by elements of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR); that for two days he was held incommunicado in an ANR jail and subjected to an interrogation described as "close" by the Human Rights Field Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; that he was then transferred to the Kokolo military camp and later to Lubumbashi, where he was held in harsh conditions in an ANR jail before being taken to Buluwo high security prison near Likasi/Shaba in Katanga Province; that, according to the Office of the High Commissioner, he was accused of having breached the activity ban imposed on political parties and, according to the source, of having stirred up members of the armed forces against President Kabila; that, following an escape attempt in April 1998, Mr. Olenghankoy and two of his fellow detainees were recaptured by the security forces and taken back to Buluwo prison; that on 18 May 1998, following the trial of "the Buluwo escapees", he was found guilty by the Military Order Court of breach of State security and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment; that the source alleges that the trials conducted by those courts do not meet international standards of equity,

Considering also that Mr. Ndongala, a member of the former HCR­TP and President of the Front for the Survival of Democracy in the Congo, was detained without an arrest warrant by members of the military police at his home on 10 December 1997; that they allegedly raped his two sisters before taking him to Loano military camp, Kinshasa, and then to Kokolo; that on 2 January 1998, Mr. Ndongala was transferred to a farm at Mikonga before being brought back to the Kokolo military camp; that he was reportedly badly beaten and that, his health having greatly deteriorated, he was taken to hospital on 8 January 1998 and underwent an operation; that he was released on 24 January 1998,

Recalling that, in the resolution on this case adopted at its 164th session (April 1999), the Council had requested the Secretary General to do his utmost to secure the release of Mr. Olenghankoy and convey the concerns of the Inter-Parliamentary Union regarding the file to the competent authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Noting that, according to a reliable source, Mr. Olenghankoy was released in June 1999 and is at present able to move around freely, but that his property, some of which has been confiscated and some looted, still has not been returned to him,

  1. Takes note with satisfaction of reliable information that Mr. Olenghankoy was released in June 1999; nevertheless regrets having to observe that he was kept in arbitrary detention for almost two years and sentenced at the conclusion of an unfair trial, and that his property has not been returned to him;
  2. Deeply regrets that Mr. Ndongala was detained without charge and subjected to severe ill-treatment, without the perpetrators of such a criminal act having been brought to justice;
  3. Considers that the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, has incurred responsibility for the violation of the human rights of its former MPs, both directly and indirectly, and urges the State authorities to take the necessary steps to compensate the persons concerned and return their property.


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