A letter to the Bishops of Congo

By Simon Mone

The local people know it and so are the leaders. So they have the political and religious duty to stay on top of the chaos across the DRC. Violence erupted there following the pronouncement by incumbent President, Joseph Kabila of his intention to prolong his stay as president beyond the mandated December, 2016 timeline.

You can't blame the populace for reacting the way they did. Hell broke loose! Civilians poured onto the streets to vent their frustration at Kabila's indication to stay-on.

The resultant impact! Scores of police and army officers were killed. Hundreds of local people have died. Hundreds of thousands forced out of their homes.

Foreign experts; Michael Sharp, an American; Zaida Catalán, a Swede; who were brought in to help collect investigate cases of human rights violation, have gone missing for over two weeks now. Others missing also include Congolese nationals who were part of the team.

With the news coming from Kasai, they could easily have been killed. All to tell the kind of animosity we are witnessing at our neighbours in the West. A section of the people attributes the violence in Kasai to customary control of the chieftaincies in the locality.

Others suspect there might be government hand in it. And the government has been asked to fully cooperate with the UN in trying to find these missing people.

As the search continues, let's hope for a peaceful conclusion of the unrest in DRC, so that the situation is quickly brought under control. Stop innocent deaths and disappearances. At the moment, this doesn't look like it.

Catholic Bishops are pulling out of talks aimed at bringing peace. It's a bad move because the impact could get worse. Government forces have already swung into action, as usual firing bullets and tear gas at protesters who are rightly expressing dissatisfaction with the bishops' announcement of their intention to depart from talks.

At this point, I implore the Clergy men to perform the humble U-turn and get to the table. These guys teach us to persevere in times of hardship. And give us the conviction to have faith, and belief in things that we don't see, as was said to St. Thomas by the Messiah himself.

In the same spirit, please continue with the talks. By talking, the following might happen; the baffling news that Congolese militia men are indoctrinating children will stop. These guys in their wild dreams, hope to force out President Kabila.

They are recruiting children in their ranks. And letting them believe that some magical powers make them impermeable to bullets. So they carry sticks and weapons to fight government forces? Continuous Talks will avert this belief and bring peace.

A pull-out by bishops will only escalate the violence at the expense of the children's lives. The solution to Kasai violence should still be talks, not armed struggle. As indicated by President Kabila. So to you National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), we hope get back. And ensure that a peace process you started reaches a logical conclusion.

Save the children, women and men of Kasai from massacre. Your involvement will mean shops will remain open and the economy will get better.

Schools will run normally and students will learn. We remind ourselves about the church's teaching on perseverance and faith in difficult times. Let's walk the talk. So please, re-collect around the table. Have faith because your views as religious leaders of Congo offers hope.

The writer is a civil engineer