Harman Ssemanda was reportedly kidnapped and killed by the Bira militia in DRC. PHOTO/VINCENT LUSAMBYA
The government yesterday said it does not have the capacity to protect up to 1,000 Ugandans scattered across the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Mr Henry Oryem Okello, the minister of State for Foreign Affairs, warned Ugandans in the region to exercise extreme caution and maintain a low profile until the situation normalises.
“Unfortunately, we lack the capacity to protect individuals scattered across eastern DRC. In such circumstances, my advice is to either remain where they are, maintaining a low profile or seek repatriation until the situation normalises,” he said.
Mr Oryem said it is the responsibility of the host country to ensure the safety of its citizens and foreign nationals. This situation has left Ugandans in the region in a precarious situation. Most Ugandans in eastern DRC are excavators who work in gold mines. They are part of the Ugandans who cross the border each year to seek fortune in mineral-rich eastern DRC.
Kidnaps and ransom But for 23-year-old Ugandan, Harman Ssemanda, the journey to the minefields became a fatal trap. On a fateful Sunday morning of February 9, Ssemanda was kidnapped, beaten and taken captive by a group of Bira militia men, notorious for their brutal tactics. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of $1,000 (Shs3.7 million), a sum that Ssemanda’s colleagues quickly scrambled to gather. But even within the time that they managed to raise the money, it was too late.
Ssemanda had already been killed – his young life extinguished in a senseless act of violence that left his friends reeling in shock. Ssemanda’s colleague, who preferred anonymity, said his association with the deceased was facilitated by a mutual friend, a lorry driver. He recommended Ssemanda for a job, praising his exceptional work ethic.
“I agreed to connect him to my boss, and we eventually met at a funeral of our fellow Ugandan who had passed on. But due to logistical constraints, we didn't travel together that day,” he said.
“He was supposed to start working with us, but there was a delay in transporting the machine he would be using to Mongbwalu, a small town in the Djuga territory of the Ituri Province in DRC,” he added. Two days later, he attempted to contact Ssemanda via WhatsApp, but he was offline. He said he tried again on Sunday, February 9 and Monday, 10, but all his attempts proved unsuccessful. On Tuesday, February 11, he visited a place in Bunia Town where Ssemanda often stayed. He discovered that Ssemanda had been kidnapped.
“Ssemanda had received a call assigning him to a temporary task in Kunda to which he travelled by motorcycle on the fateful Sunday morning. But on his way, he was stopped by the Bira militia who had staged a roadblock,” he said. “He was asked to pay Congolese Franc 1,000 (Shs1,300), but he only had 500 (Shs600). They refused to let him continue, and instead, took him off the bike, beat him up together with the motorcyclist before ordering the rider to leave Ssemanda in the hands of the notorious Bira men,” he added.
Upon learning of Ssemanda’s abduction, his colleague contacted the mutual friend – Hassan, who had recommended Ssemanda. He asked him to contribute half of the ransom. But Hassan couldn't afford the full $1,000 ransom.
Men work in a gold mine in this file photo at Chudja, near Bunia, north eastern Congo.
Failed negotiations
“I was left confused, but quickly contacted the president of our local association and informed him of the abduction of a fellow Ugandan. We tried organising a quick rescue mission,” he said.
Mr Fauz Wamala, the president of the Association of Ugandans in eastern Congo, said despite having all the necessary documents, Ssemanda, like other Ugandan excavators, was accused of being a spy.
“The cyclist who transported him said the situation escalated when they realised he was a Ugandan and was able to pay only 600 Congolese Franc out of the 1,000. They then beat and undressed Ssemanda before holding him captive and ordering the cyclist to leave,” he said.
“Upon learning of his abduction, we sent a Bira friend from Bunia to Kunda to investigate whether he was alive and to attempt negotiating his release, given his shared tribal connections with the kidnappers. We were informed Ssemanda was alive, but the Bira militias demanded $1,000 for his release. I knew we had to act quickly, but I also knew the kidnappers were armed and untrustworthy,” he added.
Because the family plays a vital role in everyone’s life, Mr Wamala said he attempted to engage Ssemanda’s aunt and wife, with whom he had a child. But they were sceptical of the ransom demands and refused to believe that their relative had been abducted. Instead, they accused Mr Wamala of being a scammer, thinking he was trying to defraud them of their money while their loved one, Ssemanda, was safe and unharmed.
“I told them I was a leader who couldn’t involve myself in such acts, I also warned them not to joke about the matter as the situation on the ground suggested that the people holding their relative captive were not to be underestimated. But they seemed to misunderstand us, and I realised it was up to us to rescue our fellow Ugandan,” he said Mr Wamala started mobilising money from Ugandans across Bunia and some excavators in the minefields. But it was only until Saturday – five days after Ssemanda’s abduction that they managed to raise the sum.
“We hired yet another friend named Fisto to accompany the boda boda cyclist who had transported Ssemanda. But the Bira declined and did not make any more demands,” he said.
“I then decided to take matters into my own hands. Together with Fisto, we hired a driver and travelled to the Bira territory to negotiate with the Bira militia leader.”
Upon arrival, Mr Wamala said he was forced to pretend to be a brother of the driver to avoid being detected as a Ugandan.
“The leader of this particular group was hostile and ignored them. He walked towards the car door where I was sitting, smoking marijuana and holding a gun, he asked who I was. Fearing being recognised as a Ugandan, I pretended to be the driver’s brother,” he said.
“They asked us why we were helping to secure the freedom of a Ugandan, as if their colleagues killed in Goma were not human. In response, Fisto, told them that Ssemada was innocent.”
But Mr Wamala said this response angered the Bira leader, who grew bitter and wondered whether their colleagues killed in Goma had done anything wrong.
He faulted their Bira friend, who seemed familiar to him, for aiding the freedom of a foreigner when he himself was a native of the land.
“Unfortunately, Ssemanda's fate was sealed. The Bira denied any involvement in his disappearance and we were unable to secure his release but were given an ultimatum of 15 minutes to vacate the land,” he said.
“We were secretly informed that Ssemanda had been killed on Thursday. The kidnappers had waited until then to execute him, leaving us with no option but to return empty-handed." When Mr Wamala engaged the security organs in the Bunia, they also found no trace of Ssemada . “They later gave me a report indicating they had sent their soldiers but still failed to secure a clear report, with the militia denying their action,” he said.
Ssemanda’s tragic fate is a grim reminder of the ever-present dangers that Ugandan excavators face in eastern DRC lawless mining fields.
Horrors, encounters with tribal militias
The region’s village tribal militias, including the Bira, the Lendu, the Hema and the Gere have long been accused of targeting miners, extorting money, goods from them, and demanding ransom from their Chinese employers and at times killing them with impunity. The lack of adequate governance and security in the region has created a power vacuum, allowing the militias to operate with reckless abandon. For Ugandan excavators of late, the risks are high, and the consequences of being in the wrong place at the wrong time can be deadly as Ssemanda’s family and friends have tragically learnt.
Mr Godfrey Wante, another Ugandan excavator working in eastern Congo, was compelled to share his concerns regarding the escalating violence and insecurity in the region. The province, which boasts the largest number of Ugandans, is plagued by footloose village tribal militias who claim ownership of the land. These militias, comprising the Lendu, Bira, Hema, and Gere ethnic tribal groups, have been engaged in violent conflicts over mineral-rich lands.
The situation was exacerbated by the arrival of Chinese investors who have been extracting minerals in the region. The militias, who are reportedly supported by high-ranking government officials, have been killing each other over control of these rich lands. However, with the deployment of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the Ugandan excavators and mechanics working in the area are living in constant fear.
“The situation has been complicated by the deployment of Ugandan troops in the region, which has led to increased tensions and violence. We are often mistaken for spies and face harassment, intimidation, and even violence from the militia tribes,” Mr Wante said.
Mr Muzafaru Kasujja, also a Ugandan excavator in Congo, recounted his narrow escape after he intended to shift to a new employment in the mining area in Kunda. “In our pursuit for a higher pay, we planned to move to another employment in Kunda.
Fortunately, the government army intercepted us and questioned my colleague's documents, which were found to be incomplete due to missing signatures. We were subsequently taken to government offices, where our employers, the Chinese, intervened and facilitated the issuance of a valid document for my colleague,” he said.
Mr Kasujja said despite having proper documents, he refused to proceed without his colleague, and they were eventually released the following day. “It was then that we received information that our intended route would take us through Bira and Lendu territories. We had been connected with a local boss through a Bira contact, and when I inquired about the situation in the area, I was informed that both the Bira and Lendu had turned hostile towards Ugandans and had ordered all Ugandan excavators to vacate. The information corroborated by a Congolese miner informed them that all Ugandans had been ordered to leave the area. But Mr Kasujja also said the situation was okay until when UPDF was deployed.
“Of late, we are targeted by these militia tribes misperceiving us as spies, the situation wasn’t like this before the deployment of the UPDF,” he said. “The Lendu and Bira militia tribes are particularly aggressive, and we've had to flee some workplaces due to attacks. We now only look for employment from fields owned by investors of the same origins because here security is more guaranteed than in Chinese fields.”
On February 18, Uganda confirmed that its troops had entered Bunia Town, eastern DRC, to avert deadly violence by Congolese militias. Maj Gen Felix Kulayigye, the director of Defence Public Information, said a meeting between UPDF and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) commanders in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, had agreed on joint deployment in the city. “Our troops that are in Ituri Province moved forward into Bunia Town to avert an evolving genocide after the joint commanders of FARDC and UPDF realised there is a militia group that was killing a certain ethnic group and so we agreed to move to Bunia to avert that genocide and that’s why we have deployed in that town,” Maj Gen Kulayigye said. But Mr Wamala said the eastern Congo mines are fraught with danger to Ugandans working in the mines.
He warned that it is clear the Congolese government lacks the capacity to provide adequate security. “I am committed to doing everything in my power to support and protect the rights of Ugandans living and working in the region, including advocating better security measures and working to promote unity and cooperation among Ugandans living in the region,” he said.
He, however, urged all Ugandans living and working in eastern Congo, especially in the mines, to exercise extreme caution and be aware of the dangers that exist in the areas where the mines are located. Mr Wamala said there are more than 1,000 Ugandans working in mines but only 250 took the initiative of registering with the association. “For whichever challenge one encounters, the authorities here in Congo are reluctant about helping unless they get a leader's voice. It is actually these challenges that are now compelling excavators to come and register with us but they have been reluctant,” he said.
“Security starts with you. Before the association gets involved, we advise excavators to ensure they are on good terms with their employers. Never venture into the mines alone as they don’t provide direct employment. Instead, go to the mines after you’ve confirmed that the job is available and you have been invited to work.” Mr Wamala also cautioned excavators against seeking employment in Kunda, a Bira militia territory, due to their proven aggression and violence towards Ugandans in recent times.
He, however, appealed to authorities to engage with the local leaders and assure them that Ugandans mean no harm and are not spies.
UPDF soldiers in the DRC. With the deployment of the UPDF, Ugandan miners in eastern DRC are living in constant fear of tribal militias that accuse them of being spies. PHOTO/FILE.
“We want to be able to work without fear of attack. The situation is dire, and we need help to resolve this mistaken identity, which is costing us a lot,” he said.
Background
Since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the DRC has struggled with persistent instability. The 1998 invasion by Rwanda and Uganda, justified as an effort to combat genocidal Hutu militias, ignited the Second Congo War. Although the war officially ended in 2003, it left a power vacuum and severely weakened governance, particularly in eastern DRC. This created fertile ground for armed groups to reshape trade routes, driving gold flows into Uganda and fueling smuggling.
Uganda’s official gold export data quickly outpaced the DRC’s, highlighting the scale of the shift. From 2011 to 2017, the United Nations (UN) reports showed that after the Dodd-Frank Act limited investment in DRC gold to avoid funding armed groups, gold routes shifted, flowing more through Burundi, Uganda, and Kenya to bypass these regulations.
Without proper tracking by Uganda’s AGR, illicit trade thrived, reinforcing armed groups and escalating conflict. International due diligence laws did something. They aimed at transparency, but instead saw themselves pushing trade into unregulated channels, enhancing smuggling and violence. The majority of gold in the DRC comes from artisanal mining, per the country’s official government data.
This gold mining mostly takes place in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Ituri, Maniema, and Tanganyika. This artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) supports 60 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 64 percent of DRC’s ASM sites focused on gold.
In the DRC, ASM offers better income than other local jobs, as industrial mining fails to integrate meaningfully with the local economy. Yet, with low-tech, labour-intensive practices, ASM results in hazardous conditions and minimal profits. DRC’s ministry of mines permits ASM in designated areas, but weak enforcement fuels informal operations.
While production is significant (around 13 tonnes annually), only a fraction (e.g., 230kg in 2017) is reported, showing the scale of smuggling and unreported output. Research shows most ASM profits are captured by armed groups, local elites, and international networks exploiting the sector.
Up to 61 percent of mining sites face armed group interference, with 37 percent reporting a permanent presence, the International Peace Information Service (IPIS)’s December 2023 documentation shows. These groups may act as security providers, engage in pillaging, or control the gold supply chain from extraction to sale.
But a 2021 Interpol report shows that illicit profits finance up to 8,000 combatants, sustaining armed conflicts.
