As part of its mandate to support Congolese state institutions, MONUSCO, through its Justice Support Section, launched on Monday 13 June 2022 the construction project of a building for the public prosecution office at the Goma Peace Court.
The objective of this quick-impact project, which is funded by MONUSCO to the tune of nearly USD 50,000, is to improve the conditions in which justice is administered by the prosecutor's office at the Goma Peace Court.
Currently, this prosecutor's office is located in an unsanitary room attached to the prosecution office of the Court of First Instance, a place that is far from being conducive to strengthening the fight against impunity through prosecution of suspected offenders and reparation to victims.
The foundation stone laying ceremony took place in the presence of the MONUSCO head of office, the public prosecutor and the first president of the North Kivu Court of Appeal.
The future 126 m2 building will be erected in the commune of Karisimbi, in Goma. The first president of the North Kivu Court of Appeal spared no effort to acquire a plot of land of approximately 400 m2 to enable the implementation of this quick impact project (QIP).
The construction work, scheduled to last three months, will be carried out by the NGO SYFED (Syndicat d'initiative des femmes pour le développement). This NGO has a successful history of collaboration with MONUSCO, having built the detached military prosecution office in Masisi and the children's court in Goma in 2021.
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Currently, the NGO SYFED is rehabilitating the State Educational and Custodial Institution (EGEE) in Goma, which was launched last May.
"I am very grateful to MONUSCO for its unwavering partnership. A building will go up in a few months. When we got this good news, it was like a dream come true," said Berthe Chekanobo, head of the Prosecution Office at the Goma Peace Court. She continued: "I would like to express our sincere thanks, on behalf of all the magistrates, to all those who have contributed to the realisation of this beautiful project"
For his part, Basile Lumande Kabuga, Public Prosecutor, indicated that "the diagnosis made in the justice sector reveals shortcomings, particularly in terms of infrastructure. By equipping the judicial institution in Goma, we are rehabilitating dignified working conditions for magistrates and I am delighted."
Laila Bourhil, head of the MONUSCO office in Goma, stressed that "the implementation of this QIP project is a first step towards constructing and equipping a building that can house the Prosecution Office while waiting for funds to be found to erect the Peace Court itself".
Laila Bourhil then called on the implementing partner SYFED to carry out the work within the three-month deadline so that "the main objective is achieved, namely to make justice accessible to the population of the city of Goma".
