Jedidia Mabela, LUCHA activist and human rights defender, was arrested on Wednesday 1 October, taken to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and then to the central prison. This arrest comes in the wake of the bloody crackdown on a sit-in organized by a coalition of citizen movements in front of the Provincial Assembly on Tuesday 30 September. The sit-in took place shortly before the opening of the September 2025 session.
The verdict was handed down on Thursday, 2 October 2025, and it has sent shockwaves through the activist community in Tshopo. Jedija Mabela, an activist with the citizen movement Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA), was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and fined 1,500,000 Congolese francs in a trial against the provincial governor, Paulin Lendongolia. Mabela’s lawyers described the decision as a “unique judgement”, denouncing the governor’s direct interference in the judicial decision.
Following the judgement handed down by the Kisangani Magistrates’ Court, Maître Firmin Yangambi, one of Jedija Mabela’s lawyers, did not mince his words. He clearly stated that it was a “judgement dictated by Governor Paulin Lendongolia”. Yangambi recalled the governor’s career, highlighting his own past role in his rise to power when he was a provincial deputy during a motion of censure against former governor Walle Lofungola.
“We will defend our values to the end. Children like Jedidia are the light of Congo today,” insisted Maître Yangambi, denouncing the governor’s arbitrary actions in using his power to arrest a peaceful citizen. As human rights activists and defenders of freedoms, the lawyers promise fierce opposition: “We will oppose him. Let him know that from now on, we will fight them through all legal channels, and we will bring them down legally.”
This trial in flagrante delicto raises serious questions about the independence of the judiciary and freedom of expression in Tshopo province, highlighting the tensions between the provincial authorities and citizen movements demanding more transparent governance that respects fundamental rights.
Written by Akilimali Chomachoma