Kinshasa — Despite a reserve of 195 million dollars paid by Uganda, the Special Reparation and Compensation Fund for Victims of Uganda's Armed Activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Frivao) is struggling to fulfil its mission: to identify and compensate the victims of a war waged more than 20 years ago. The Fund, hit by suspicions of embezzlement, has seen its steering committee replaced and referred to the courts.
In June 2000, the Ugandan and Rwandan armies clashed in Kisangani, in what is now Tshopo province, north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This so-called "Six-Day War" is one of the big incidents of violence attributed to foreign armies in the DRC. This "Genocost", as the Congolese call it -- i.e. genocide for profit (genocide + cost) -- left more than 1,000 people dead and 3,000 wounded.
On Genocost commemoration day August 2, 2024, a video of a tearful, angry woman with both legs amputated made the rounds of the media and social networks in the DRC, bearing witness to the atrocities of the Six-Day War. "I was nine years old, in the third year of primary school, when the Ugandan and Rwandan armies clashed in Kisangani," says Toto Folo. "That was the day a bomb destroyed our house and I lost both my legs. I'm suffering because of people I don't know. What did I do to deserve this?"
Like Toto Folo, the victims of the Six-Day War have a fund to compensate them, the Fonds spécial de réparation et d'indemnisation des victimes des activités armées de l'Ouganda en RDC (Frivao), created by decree in December 2019 and based in Kisangani. But Frivao did not actually start work until four years later, when its leaders were appointed by presidential decree in April 2023.
This public establishment is supposed to be managed in accordance with a ruling handed down by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in February 2022. To compensate for illegal activities carried out between 1998 and 2003 on the territory of its neighbour, the Court ordered Uganda to pay a total of 325 million dollars: 225 million dollars for damage caused to people (including loss of life, rape, recruitment of child soldiers and displacement of civilians), 40 million dollars for damage caused to property, and 60 million dollars for damage to natural resources. All of this is to be paid to the DRC in five annual instalments of $65 million.
Uganda paid the first instalment on September 1, 2022. The second payment was made the following year. And the third was paid this year. The Frivao account has therefore been credited with $195 million. But what has this fund been used for to date? Has it compensated the victims properly? How is it managed?
Suspension and suspicions of embezzlement
On July 31, just before the Genocost commemoration, Constant Mutamba, the new Minister of Justice overseeing Frivao, spoke from Kisangani, where he had spent part of his life. Freshly appointed in May 2024, the minister ordered a freeze on all debit movements on the Frivao account. The decision was prompted by suspicions of misappropriation. According to Mutamba, there were problems with the management of the fund, with "many discrepancies in the figures between what was actually disbursed and the work for which the disbursement was made".
"I have received the report from the Inspectorate General of Finance (IGF). I have heard from the Frivao Coordinator, whom I received in Kinshasa on the basis of the IGF report. I also received the Frivao board chairman in Kinshasa," said Mutamba. The minister, himself a victim of the Six-Day War, went even further, announcing the dismissal of the Frivao committee and the referral of the case to the courts. "After the meetings and everything I've heard here, I've decided that all [the Frivao representatives] should be placed at the disposal of the public prosecutor. They must answer to the law," he told a jubilant crowd.
The order suspending the Frivao steering committee was signed on August 12. In this document, the minister appointed a provisional committee, coordination of which was entrusted to Chançard Bolukola, until then secretary to the minister's office. Born in Kisangani in 1998, shortly before the start of the war, this former activist of the Pona Congo citizens' movement is himself a victim, as part of his family's home was destroyed during the conflict.
His appointment and, more generally, the minister's decisions have been criticised by members of the dismissed committee, led by the coordinator Abbé François Mwarabu Ngalema. "First there's regret, because we were unjustly suspended. And secondly, the procedure was not followed," said the suspended team's secretary Mimy Mopunga in Kinshasa on August 15. "The authorities must learn to respect the hierarchy. I think they're even trampling on the prerogatives of the Head of State, who signed the order appointing us as representatives of Frivao. Is this a decree that abrogates a presidential order, or is it the other way round? If you read the spirit of this decree, you will notice that there are no charges against us," she added, pointing out that the IGF report "does not indicate any misappropriation and even less mention any mismanagement".
Compensation increased from $250 to $2,000
Compensation payments resumed at the beginning of September. When the process was relaunched, Toto Folo was among the first victims to receive hers. "It's a relief, even if it doesn't restore my legs; I'm disabled for life," she says in a video, thanking the authorities for making the compensation "a reality".
The amount each victim now receives has increased almost tenfold, from 250 to 2,000 US dollars. According to Bolukola, this amount takes into account the funds available and the number of victims registered. At the end of the process of certifying all the victims, the sum could increase still further, depending on the different status of the victims and what they have suffered: loss of life, injuries, rape and sexual violence, loss of property, etc. Some victims could receive more compensation, others not.
Before the suspension of the Frivao leadership, a total of 14,000 victims had been identified, according to figures put forward by former coordinator Mwarabu, although the certification process is still ongoing. Of these, 4,131 have so far been declared eligible on the basis of the criteria established by the ICJ. These figures are confirmed by Bolukola. "14,814 victims have been identified and registered. 3,163 [of those eligible] have been certified. The remaining number [more than 10,000 people] have either been deemed ineligible or are still undergoing the process, awaiting additional documents, medical examinations and so on," he explains.
An ad hoc commission has just been set up to carry out "physical checks on victims who have already been certified," adds the interim coordinator. This body works with the members of the certification committee. And to give it "credibility", members of this commission include delegates from victims' associations, members of civil society, and officers from the judicial police who certify testimonies and information, Bolukola tells us.
After this physical inspection of the victims who have already been certified, the Fund will decide on the other 10,000 registered victims at a later date, says Bolukola. According to Bolukola, Frivao plans to investigate the four provinces of the former Province Orientale at the time of the war. These are the provinces of Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri and Tshopo, which cover more than 500,000 km2, or a fifth of the national territory.
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Anger and impatience
Some victims who have already received money feel that the amount is not enough, or do not understand what it is for. "I'm a beneficiary because I lost all the members of my family. My house was damaged. I also lost my possessions. But I also have an injured leg. Strangely enough, I received 2,000 dollars. I don't know for which category I received this amount. The money is in my bank account and I don't know what to do with it," a victim living in Kisangani told Justice Info.
Others are still not being compensated, like one man from the Mangobo neighbourhood who is fed up going back and forth with his grandmother to Frivao headquarters to claim his money. Their family home was destroyed by two bombs in 2000, and he has all the evidence to prove that he was one of the victims, he says. "It bothers us that they are dragging things out. The wait is too long. We spend money every day on transport. They should speed up the process! Let them give each person their money," he adds angrily.
With this reshuffle in Frivao, the compensation process seems to have speeded up: on October 8, 998 victims were compensated, out of the 1,200 sent to Rawbank to open accounts for receiving money. After the compensation, Bolukola assures us, Frivao plans to "support the victims to help them make better use of the money received after 24 years of waiting".
Based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Caleb Kazadi has been Justice Info\'s correspondent since 2021. With a degree in International Relations from the University of Kinshasa, he is primarily interested in human rights issues. In June 2018, he joined Fondation Hirondelle and worked in the Swiss organization\'s radio and multimedia programs. Between 2019 and 2021, he moved to Kasai to cover the region\'s news as it emerged from violent armed conflict. He has also worked for the peacebuilding organization Search For Common Ground.
