The noose is tightening around the National Cyber Defence Council (CNC). Following the damning report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) denouncing enforced disappearances in Kinshasa, the Congolese NGO Justicia Asbl has broken its silence. It is calling on President Félix Tshisekedi to take action against the abuses committed by a service under his direct authority.

In a recent report, the international organization Human Rights Watch revealed around ten cases of enforced disappearances targeting political opponents since March 2025. These acts are attributed to the National Cyber Defense Council (CNC), a body attached to the Presidency, which is said to use ‘spurious’ grounds to carry out arbitrary arrests and detain citizens in secret locations.

For Justicia Asbl, these revelations confirm long-standing fears. In an official statement, the NGO commends the work of HRW, emphasizing that the CNC has legally “no right to abduct citizens, nor to detain them in clandestine cells”.

The organization strongly condemns practices described as “barbaric and tantamount to terrorism”, targeting not only opponents but also human rights activists and journalists. According to Justicia Asbl, these actions do not serve national security interests but are part of a “purely political” agenda.

This intensified repression comes against a backdrop of growing tension surrounding the Constitution. Justicia Asbl fears that the CNC and the judiciary may be “exploited to silence critical voices” opposed to a potential constitutional amendment that would allow the Head of State to seek a third term. Such a scenario would, according to the NGO, deal a “fatal blow” to the young Congolese democracy.

In light of the gravity of the situation, Justicia Asbl is appealing directly to the country’s head of state. The NGO is calling on the President of the Republic, in particular, to launch an independent inquiry into the CNC’s abuses and to order the immediate and unconditional release of all those unjustly detained.

Whilst the families of the missing remain without news, international and local pressure is mounting for the authorities in Kinshasa to shed full light on these “missing persons” and to respect legal judicial procedures.

Written by Azarias Mokonzi