Deadly clashes in Kinshasa after police disperse opposition sit-in against constitutional reform

Mass dispersal leaves dead and wounded

Police deployed anti-riot trucks around the Parliament building in Kinshasa early on 12 June, blocking access hours before the C64 coalition's planned sit-in. Opposition supporters gathered at party headquarters several hundred metres away, but when leaders attempted to march toward Parliament around midday, clashes erupted. Officers fired tear gas after protesters clashed with pro-government activists, sending thick smoke across Boulevard Lumumba. The human-rights NGO Dignité humaine reported at least four dead, 304 lightly wounded and 32 seriously wounded. Deutsche Welle, citing a provisional tally, spoke of two dead. Among the injured were prominent opposition leaders Martin Fayulu, Delly Sesanga and Jean-Marc Kabund, as well as Ados Ndombasi.

Opposition headquarters targeted

Hours after the dispersal, video footage showed armed men identifying themselves as members of the Force du Progrès social, a militia linked to President Félix Tshisekedi's UDPS party, ransacking the headquarters of Fayulu's Ecidé party. The assailants destroyed property in the presence of security forces who did not intervene.

“We were holding a political morning at our headquarters when we noticed the arrival of members of the Force du Progrès as well as soldiers. They came to attack us even though we had not undertaken any violent action. Our only fault is to say no to a change in the constitution.”

Constitutional battle deepens

Opposition parties accuse Tshisekedi of seeking a third term, prohibited by the current constitution. A bill adopted by the National Assembly on 9 June, with 348 votes in favour and two against, would allow a referendum on constitutional change in the event of a "major dysfunction" paralysing state institutions. Tshisekedi, 62, has been in power since 2019 and is due to finish his second term in 2028; he has said he would accept a third term if approved by a referendum. The opposition coalition C64, formed in May, calls the reform plan a "serious threat" to stability.

“Every family, every neighbourhood, every village must become a cell of citizen resistance.”

Former president Joseph Kabila, in a message circulated by Congolese media, warned of a risk of "Sudanisation" and invoked Article 64 of the constitution to call on citizens to defend the constitutional order.

Church mediation and an uncertain dialogue

Amid the polarisation, the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) agreed in principle to constitutional reform during an extraordinary session in Kinshasa, but insisted it take place only within an inclusive, peaceful national dialogue. The ECC described the constitution as a pact of collective survival. Opposition figures expressed reservations, viewing the church's position as ambiguous and potentially legitimising a power grab.