Police & jail misconductOversight & ethics enforcementCourts & justice

Congolese military court convicted a Republican Guard colonel after the 2023 Goma killings, but senior officers named by Amnesty were not prosecuted

Confidence: Corroborated · 2 sourcesDemocratic Republic of the Congo · Oct 6, 2026

Subject of this story

Republican Guard (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Mike Mikombe, Colonel, Republican Guard (DRC)

Constant Ndima, Lieutenant General; former military governor of North Kivu

Peter Kabwe, Major, Congolese armed forces (FARDC)

Forces Armees de la Republique Democratique du Congo (FARDC)

Also named

Oversight

North Kivu Military Court

Advocate

Human Rights Watch

Amnesty International

What happened

On 30 August 2023 Congolese soldiers and Republican Guard troops killed at least 56 people (Amnesty cites a confidential UN report of 102) who were preparing a protest in Goma. The North Kivu military court sentenced Col. Mike Mikombe to death and others to prison terms. HRW (August 2024) and Amnesty (December 2024) said the proceedings did not establish command responsibility, did not fix the death toll, and gave victims no compensation; Amnesty named former military governor Lt Gen Constant Ndima and Maj. Peter Kabwe as needing investigation.

Sources (2)

Human Rights WatchInvestigation failed to establish command responsibility of senior officers and provided no victim compensation.

Amnesty InternationalTrial lacked ballistics tests, DNA collection or autopsies on unidentified bodies; Amnesty called for Ndima and Kabwe to be investigated.