Manzi Claude, a young Rwandan businessman is the latest victim of the ongoing persecution of Rwandans in the DR Congo. Manzi was kidnapped in Goma by Congolese security organs and immediately flown to Kinshasa where families are fearing for his life.
Manzi, who serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board Directors of JIBU, a regional water processing company was in Congo to oversee business operations on behalf of the company. Before his kidnap in Goma, Manzi had travelled from Bukavu on his way back home after completing his business trip.
This act by the Congolese security forces is in violation of the East African Community common market protocol, which is among the protocols the DRC government, signed upon admission to the EAC block. The protocol seeks for EAC to progressively transform into a single market that allows free movement of goods, persons, services, labour and capital while guaranteeing rights to residence and establishment.
Reviews of the relevant laws to ensure the smooth operation of the EAC Common Market are ongoing in all the Partner States. However, the Congolese government seems not to accord any significance to these agreements, which are the pillars of the ultimate regional integration. The East African Community must condemn this act by its newest member before they take the community a step backwards.
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