Sango Batendji fights for human rights in south-Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in particular in the region of Fizi. Femme Integrées a la Paix et au Développement (FIPD) - Women working for peace and Development identifies and denounces, at national and international level, cases of rape and sexual violence. She helps to ensure that vistims of sexual violence are directed or referred to medical centres. The organisation also arranges local courts in partnership with the Uvira military/garrison court because the region is 120km away from these official courts and sometimes the roads is in terrible condition. The organisation also undertakes socio-economic reinsertion activities for the VVS.

FARDC (Congolese army) turned the handle of my door with force and came in to my room. They forced me to leave the room and brought me to the Commander-in-Chief based in Baraka.

I was staring at my attackers as the revolver pointed towards my head. I stayed in jail for 3 hours in Baraka and then the interrogation started as follows: (who are the leaders of your organisation? Who do you send your reports to?) I then travelled 37 kilometres by foot over night towards Fizi, South of Baraka, escorted by a group of eight military men.

What were the motives of my abduction?

I have always been active in speaking out nationally and internationally about arbitrary arrests, exactions, sexual violence, extortions, systematic pillage and other transgressions of human rights which are all common practice in Fizi territory, a place known for its armed conflict.

When we arrived in Fizi, I was greeted as the leader of an enemy group and immediately I was incarcerated.

Because I was tired after the 37 kilometres walk over night, I refused to obey the order I was given.

In the meantime, my colleagues got organised and reached Uvira (90kms North of Baraka) with a rented car in order to mobilise public opinion, nationally and internationally, because at this period our territory was cut off, it was impossible to make phone calls or to use the Internet to get in contact with the rest of the world.

The answer to all the military intimidations was: ‘one day military power will pay the consequences of its acts when it comes to violating human rights’ end of quote.

Eventually Anne Marie from Monuc, came down to Fizi because of all this.

Consequently, the Commander-in-Chief of the Brigade 118 of the FARDC was called by the 10th military section of Bukavu and an order was given to discharge me.

These are some of the risks we have to take in doing this work:

• Work is done in an armed-conflict zone where the government has no control over the armed groups such as (FARDC, FDLR, Maï-Maï, groupe de Muranvya, groupe de 47...)
• Limited resources in terms of security for our offices, reports and their mailing;
• Lack of communication;
• Lack of capacity in terms of human rights activism.

To ensure the protection of activities in Fizi and its neighbourhood, we recommend: 

• To provide us with laptops, printers, photocopying machines, mobile phones and generators;
• To fund us for a vehicle to coordinate our different activities and facilitate contacts. A network missing appropriate means of transportation is unimaginable;
•  To reinforce our activists’ capacities by giving them appropriate training related to human hights activism;
• To open an Internet network for human rights militants in this enclosed area, because we must travel 90 kilometres with the reports to dispatch them, which exposes us to many risks.