8 September 2005
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Commission of Enquiry into the murder of a leading human rights defender has failed to bring justice, Front Line said today. The mandate of the commission ended on September 6 without a report on its conclusions or any proposals to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Congolese government established the Commission of Enquiry following the murder of the executive secretary of human rights agency Hértiers de la justice, Mr Pascal Kabungulu Kibembi (55). Three armed men shot the human rights defender in front of his family, in Bukavu, eastern Congo on July 31, 2005.
Hértiers de la justice has a longstanding record of documenting human rights violations including serious abuses committed by the militias, which have terrorised eastern Congo since the civil war broke out in 1998. Mr. Kibembi was a courageous and tireless human rights defender who was well known in the DRC. His murder has resulted in outrage and fear among the Congolese human rights community. 
