John Numbi Tambo Banza
Inspector General of the Congolese Armed Forces
In office
July 2018 – July 2020
PresidentJoseph Kabila
Prime MinisterBruno Tshibala
Preceded byRigobert Massamba
Inspector General of the Congolese National Police
In office
? – January 2010
PresidentJoseph Kabila
Prime MinisterAugustin Matata Ponyo
Succeeded byCharles Bisengimana
Military service
Allegiance Democratic Republic of the Congo
Branch/service Congolese Air Force
Congolese National Police
RankMajor general
CommandsCongolese Air Force
Congolese National Police
Battles/warsKimia II Operation

John Numbi (born 1962) was a Congolese security officer and retainer of Joseph Kabila, who rose to the rank of General. Until January 2010, he was the Inspector General of the Congolese National Police.[1] In 2018 he was appointed as the Inspector General of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC).[2] He was replaced in that role in 2020, and fled the DR Congo after Joseph Kabila's power dwindled in the first quarter of 2021.

History

John Numbi was born in 1962 in Haut-Lomami (North-Katanga) and belongs to the Luba/Lubakat ethnic group, like former President Laurent-Désiré Kabila.[3] He met the latter in 1989 then sympathized with his son Joseph Kabila.[3] Politically active, he was an organizer of the youth militia of the Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans (UFERI), which was used by former governor Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza against Luba supporters of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress in the late 1990s.[3]

He rose under the presidency of Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Jeune Afrique commented "little by little, he made his way.. : in charge of communication for a company, then in a brigade, Numbi will find himself director of communications for the army of the new power," and then commander of the 50th Brigade responsible for security in the city of Kinshasa.[3] In 2000, he held the rank of Brigadier General and was the commander for military Region 4 (Katanga).[4] After the president's death, his successor Joseph Kabila appointed him chief of staff of the air force in March 2001.[3]

In November 2006, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's offensive against the armed National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) had stalled. Numbi, then commander of the Congolese air force, was sent in Goma to negotiate with CNDP commander Laurent Nkunda. The talks were moved on 31 December to Kigali, where they were facilitated by senior Rwandan officers, including Chief of Staff Gen. James Kabarebe. In early January, an agreement was reached, the terms of which included that Nkunda's forces would be subject to mixage with government units in North Kivu, and eventually deployed outside the province.[5] On 14 February 2007, in reaction to increasing international criticism of the use of child soldiers, Numbi was among a group of senior officers who issued a notice to commanders of mixed brigades that they would be held responsible for the illegal presence of children in their units.[6]

In June 2007, he was appointed Inspector General of the Congolese National Police.[3]

On 26 February 2008, Numbi met with Interior Minister Denis Kalume and President Joseph Kabila to discuss Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK), an unarmed religious movement that had been engaged in violent demonstrations for greater political independence in Bas Kongo. Two days later, 600 police officers armed with machine guns and grenades were deployed from Kinshasa to repress the group. This action was criticized by United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo as an excessive use of force.[7] In 2009, Numbi and Kabarebe of Rwanda managed Operations Kimia II and Umoja Wetu, a joint operation against Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda forces operating in eastern Congo.[8][9]

Historian Gérard Prunier in a 2009 publication states that Numbi, along with Augustin Katumba Mwanke [de], Samba Kaputo [fr], Kalume and Marcellin Cishambo [fr], are the "old palace guard" who "are the ones actually running things" in the Congolese government. Prunier further asserts that this group has "a vested interest in 'personally fruitful' stagnation."[10]

On 28 September 2016, Numbi received United States sanctions because he used "violent intimidation" to secure victories for his favored candidates in 2016 provincial elections. U.S. citizens are now barred from conducting financial transactions with him. The measures were seen as a warning to president Joseph Kabila to respect the country's constitution.[11]

In July 2020, Numbi was replaced as Inspector General of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo by Gabriel Amisi Kumba.[12]

At the beginning of 2021, first, Numbi was implicated in the Chebeya affair. Secondly, the change of political majority reduced the power of former President Joseph Kabila, to whom Numbi is very close. In March 2021, according to several sources and press articles, Numbi fled the country, either to Zambia or to Zimbabwe.[13]

In April 2021, John Numbi was officially prosecuted by military justice for "criminal association" and "assassination of Floribert Chebeya and Fidèle Bazana."[14] He was declared a deserter.[15]

In August 2021, heavy weapons were discovered in the residence formerly occupied by John Numbi in Kinshasa. An arsenal capable of equipping an entire battalion, according to military sources. The town planning authorities turned to Military Justice to recover the property where John Numbi had lived, a state house without title or guarantee.[16]

References

  1. ^ "The African Executive | Belgian Paratroopers to Crush Rising Congo Rebellion? Part IV". www.africanexecutive.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07.
  2. ^ Plusieurs nominations dans l'armée en RDC (in French). BBC Africa, 16 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Tshitenge 2009.
  4. ^ "Appendix D: Who's Who in the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC)" (PDF). Scramble for the Congo: Anatomy of an Ugly War. Nairobi/Brussels: International Crisis Group. 20 December 2000. p. 120. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  5. ^ Renewed Crisis in North Kivu. Human Rights Watch. October 2007. p. 16. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  6. ^ Human Rights Watch (2007), p. 54
  7. ^ Anneke Van Woudenberg, Anneke (2008). "We will crush you": the restriction of political space in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Human Rights Watch. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-56432-405-4.
  8. ^ "Final report prepared in accordance with paragraph 8 of Security Council resolution 1857 (2008)" (PDF). United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 9 November 2009. p. 30. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  9. ^ For a more detailed account of Numbi's involvement in the 2009 offensives, see Snow, Keith Harmon (6 January 2010). "Belgian Paratroopers to Crush Rising Congo Rebellion? Part IV". The African Executive. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  10. ^ Prunier, Gérard (2009). Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-19-537420-9.
  11. ^ Burke, Jason (28 September 2016). "US imposes sanctions on top DRC officials after election delay". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  12. ^ Romain Gras; Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala (July 19, 2020). "RDC: under pressure from United States, Félix Tshisekedi is carrying out a cautious reshuffle in the army". Jeune Afrique.
  13. ^ Romain Gras and Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala (March 22, 2021). "Affair Chebeya in the DRC: General John Numbi fled the country". Young Africa.
  14. ^ Young Africa (April 21, 2021). "DRC: John Numbi officially prosecuted for the assassination of Floribert Chebeya". Young Africa.
  15. ^ Radio France International (31 August 2021). "RDC: perquisition à Kinshasa au domicile du général en fuite John Numbi". RFI. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  16. ^ Radio France International 2021.

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