Fidèle Bwirhonde, journalist, blogger and member of the network of Congolese bloggers Habari RDC, was present in the motorcade in another car.



I waited all morning at the airport for the candidate to arrive, which he did at 12:50 pm. The rally was due to take place at the Tout Puissant Mazembe stadium but there was a last-minute change. So it was eventually announced for a pitch in the Cité des jeunes, a vocational training centre for disadvantaged youth situated in the south of the city. I also saw police fire tear gas and use water cannons on the crowd. I too got hit by the water, and the dye stained my shirt.

Blue colouring in the water cannons



Screen grab of a video posted on Michel Koyakpa’s Facebook page.



Spraying protesters with coloured water allows police to identify them once the crowd has dispersed and also deters demonstrators who might not want to get their skin or clothes stained. This method has been used across the world, says Foreign Policy. Blue dye has been used in Egypt and Argentina; pink dye has been used in Uganda, and green dye has been used by the Israeli army against Palestinians.

According to a protester interviewed by France 24 Observers, the dyed water used in Lubumbashi left lasting stains on his car and his clothes, but not his skin. “When the water hits you, it tickles, it itches and it stings, but I didn’t get any rashes,” he said.

Contacted by telephone, the Congolese national police spokesman did not wish to say why this dye was added to the water.

The candidate was standing up in the open-top car, and was waving to the crowd. With the tear gas, he had to constantly hold a handkerchief in front of his nose and mouth. At one point, he was hit by water and was forced to take refuge inside the vehicle. When the motorcade headed for the Cité des jeunes, it was met with a police barricade. It tried to make a detour but once again came face-to-face with the security forces. At that point, the delegation decided to cancel everything and to take cover in the home of Gabriel Kyungu, the Lamuka coalition’s coordinator for the region.

Deaths in the Cité des jeunes



Our Observers said that later, at the Cité des jeunes, where the candidate’s supporters had gathered, police erected a barrier to prevent the public from attending the rally. According to our Observers, the police also dismantled the podium, the sound equipment and then fired live rounds into the crowd.