DR Congo: Goma, Death for a 90 year old sewing machine

Charly at L'ACTU DU KIVU blogs

Un voleur à Main armée tué et un autre capturé par la PNC du bataillon de la Police d'intervention rapide ;ces bandits ont cambriolés un atelier de couture avant d'être poursuivis par la police cette nuit du 18 Décembre à 1H du matin dans le Quartier Mabanga-Nodr près de la paroisse notre Dame d'Afrique

Après avoir immolé huit dans le quartier Majengo et abattu deux autres la nuit de vendredi 14 à samedi 15 dans le quartier Virunga; la police Congolaise malgré en petite équipe dans la ville;mais très déterminée à éradiquer l'insécurité dans la ville après le retrait des troupes de M23 depuis le 01 décembre dernier.

My French is none existent and google wasn't fantastic but Charly is talking about the increase in crime in Goma and the efforts of the police to counter it. As you can see a man is dead his crime stealing sewing machines. The machines are Singer's and are about 90 years old. A man is dead over antiquated sewing machines.

I realise that there is a western bias involved by me and that those machines mean a lot more in Goma than they would in Auckland but a mans life has got to be worth more than two 90 year old sewing machines. This is the level of desperation that exists in Goma.

Alex Engwete blogs

Goma's police second-in-command, Major Bertin Chirumana, was gunned
down in the night of last Friday to Saturday (14 to 15 December).

Major Bertin Chirumana was an element of GEMI, the contingent of the
National Congolese Police newly deployed in Goma after the withdrawal
of M23 from the provincial capital of North Kivu.

City authorities are treating the assassination as a mere sordid crime
and have even taken into custody one "suspect."

They're also blaming the crime wave engulfing the city on the more
than 1,500 inmates still at large after the mass prison break that
occurred when M23 seized the city.

But Goma residents think otherwise, and call the arrested suspect a "scapegoat."

They believe that M23 have left behind highly-trained snipers with
powerful sniper rifles at different quarters of the city. 

Charly and Alex are highlighting just how bad things have become and how much worse they can get. M23 are reportedly taking up positions near to Goma although this is unconfirmed it seems likely to be accurate.