Bottom Line

The National Assembly approved a revised referendum law as President Félix Tshisekedi promised a team to prepare national dialogue. Opposition leaders are gathering in Rome, though migration authorities prevented one of them from leaving Kinshasa. In the east, families continue to flee fighting in South Kivu, while unpaid workers have stopped key Ebola-response activities in Nia-Nia. A formal trial of a vaccine against Bundibugyo Ebola has begun in Bunia.

Politics and Governance

Referendum law advances as Tshisekedi prepares national dialogue

The National Assembly approved the revised referendum law on Friday, October 23, after changing 13 articles in response to Constitutional Court observations. The bill now goes to the Senate. At a meeting with lawmakers from his Union sacrée coalition, Tshisekedi said he would name a team this week to prepare national dialogue and criticized the current Constitution. Opposition lawmaker Christian Mwando argued that advancing the referendum law narrows the space for dialogue, amid opposition fears that constitutional changes could affect presidential tenure.

Opposition leaders gather in Rome; Prince Epenge barred from traveling

Martin Fayulu, Delly Sesanga, Jean-Marc Kabund, Augustin Matata Ponyo and Moïse Katumbi are due to meet in Rome on October 26–27. It will be the first in-person leaders’ meeting of their Coalition Article 64, or C64, since its formation in May. The group favors an inclusive dialogue while rejecting an armed route to political change.

Migration authorities prevented C64 member Prince Epenge from leaving Kinshasa for Rome on Sunday and retained his passport. Fayulu’s passport was briefly held, then returned. Epenge says officers referred to a judicial summons connected to the death of a member of his party after the September 15 C64 march; he says he never received it. The Rome gathering follows a September 1–3 exchange in Helsinki, supported by the Finnish peace foundation CMI, where disagreements over constitutional change and the structure of dialogue complicated discussions involving opposition and presidential-majority figures.

Security services question two Kabila-era figures

Security agents detained former Senate president Alexis Thambwe Mwamba in Kinshasa; he was released after several hours of questioning. Senator Carole Agito was also questioned, prompting Senate leaders to invoke her parliamentary immunity. Thambwe Mwamba is a longtime associate of former president Joseph Kabila, while Agito is a former figure in Kabila’s PPRD.

Fils Mukoko arrested after threats against Western nationals

Authorities arrested UDPS figure Fils Mukoko after a video in which he spoke of distributing firearms at soccer fields, churches, schools and universities to attack Western nationals in Kinshasa. The justice minister ordered an investigation into the threats.

PALU expels member who backed Kabila’s armed movement

The Parti lumumbiste unifié, or PALU, expelled Célestin Ngoma after he declared support for Kabila’s Front pour la refondation de la nation (FRN). PALU is part of Tshisekedi’s presidential majority; its leadership supports a dialogue organized through state institutions.

Government orders cybersecurity audit

At the October 23 cabinet meeting, Tshisekedi ordered an audit of public digital infrastructure. The instruction followed international warnings about vulnerabilities that could expose sensitive data or interrupt public services. Telecommunications and digital-economy authorities will coordinate the review with security and financial agencies.

Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs

South Kivu fighting displaces families toward Rurambo

FARDC and Wazalendo fighters clashed with FRN forces at Kaniola on Wednesday, October 21, disrupting schools, trade and transport and injuring a child. In Kaziba, commercial activity began to resume as fighting shifted away from the center toward Ntagereka and Munanira. Families displaced by the fighting continued arriving in Rurambo and nearby communities in the Uvira highlands. Local civil-society sources say many need shelter and food. Rurambo is held by FARDC and Wazalendo forces; neighboring Kahololo is associated with Twirwaneho fighters allied to the FRN.

Fizi authorities remove Wazalendo checkpoints and detention cells

The Fizi territorial security council says it dismantled more than 20 unauthorized checkpoints and 15 detention cells on the Fizi–Misisi road in South Kivu. Officials attributed the barriers and arbitrary detentions to Wazalendo fighters. The operation was negotiated with Wazalendo coordinator William Amuri Yakutumba, the longtime leader of Mai-Mai Yakutumba. His armed coalition attacked Uvira in September 2017; his forces later joined the Wazalendo mobilization against M23.

UNHCR delegation reportedly blocked from Kigonze site

FARDC personnel reportedly prevented a UNHCR delegation from entering the Kigonze displacement site in Bunia on October 23. Security forces began cordoning off Kigonze on September 20, and Ituri authorities confirmed a decision to close and relocate the site on October 1. Former residents met the delegation elsewhere in Bunia and described damage to their shelters.

More than 12,000 refugees seek voluntary return from Congo-Brazzaville

The DRC, Congo-Brazzaville and UNHCR completed talks on voluntary returns. More than 12,000 Congolese refugees there reportedly want to return, principally people who fled communal and customary conflicts in Mai-Ndombe’s Yumbi, Bolobo and Kwamouth territories and in Kungu, Sud-Ubangi. The Yumbi violence drove refugees across the river in 2018. The current plan envisages returns beginning in 2027; security in home areas, reconciliation and damaged infrastructure remain obstacles.

Health

Formal Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine trial begins in Bunia

The first participant was vaccinated in the Tumaini phase 2/3 trial in Bunia on October 23. Ervebo had already been used during the outbreak under emergency arrangements. Licensed against a different Ebola virus, it is now being tested to determine whether it protects people against Bundibugyo Ebola.

Unpaid workers halt Ebola-response activities in Nia-Nia

Ebola workers in Nia-Nia, in Ituri’s Mambasa territory, stopped surveillance, community outreach and infection-prevention work over allowances unpaid since August. Sunday’s reporting confirmed that the strike remained in effect.

New transmission chain and missing patients complicate Ebola response

Health officials identified a new transmission chain around Mandima in Ituri. In Oicha, North Kivu, response teams are seeking three people who left care or missed follow-up; accounts differ on whether they were confirmed patients or suspected cases awaiting tests. In Bafwasende, Tshopo, three patients left an Ebola treatment center before completing care. Mambasa health officials also warned that deaths and handling of bodies outside health facilities are contributing to transmission.

Two nurses attacked after Ebola-related accusation in Tshopo

A crowd killed one nurse and seriously injured another in Bafwasende territory on Sunday. The two were accused of putting a substance into a river to spread Ebola. The accusation was a rumor; local civil society has called for an investigation into the attack.

Kwilu investigates six deaths among suspected cholera cases

Provincial health officials recorded six deaths among 19 people with severe diarrhea and dehydration in the Djuma and Sia health zones of Kwilu. Samples have been sent for cholera testing.

Justice, Transport and Public Services

Prison figures show crisis beyond Makala

Justice Minister Guillaume Ngefa counted 52,095 people in custody nationwide, including 40,260 awaiting trial. He said 74 of the country’s 214 prisons were not operational. In Lubumbashi, roughly 3,000 detainees at Kasapa prison have faced water and electricity shortages. Deaths and an increase in diarrheal illness have also been reported at Walikale prison in North Kivu.

Rain damage suspends flights at Tshikapa airport

Flights at Tshikapa airport in Kasaï have been suspended after heavy rain damaged its unpaved runway, complicating travel and medical evacuations. A $23.2 million modernization project under the Sino-Congolese infrastructure program has stalled. The public works agency removed the original contractor in May, citing delays and deficient work; the contractor disputed that assessment. The government said in September that it was revising the contract.

Kalemie schedules daytime power cuts for line repairs

State utility SNEL scheduled electricity cuts across Kalemie from 08:05 to 16:00 each day for 20 days beginning October 25. Crews are replacing insulators on the 132-kilovolt Bendera–Kalemie transmission line after repeated electrical trips.

Traffic resumes on Ituri’s RN27 after transport strike

Transporters ended their ten-day strike on Friday, October 23 after Ituri authorities promised stronger security on high-risk stretches of the Bunia–Mahagi road. More than 600 vehicles carrying passengers and goods subsequently resumed travel, with the first convoys reaching Bunia. The strike followed attacks and extortion along the route; gasoline prices in Bunia remained elevated as traffic restarted.

Mining and the Economy

U.S.-backed consortium says Glencore mine talks are in final phase

Orion Critical Mineral Consortium says talks to acquire a stake in Glencore’s Mutanda and Kamoto operations are in their final phase. Led by Orion Resource Partners in partnership with the U.S. government, the consortium signed a nonbinding memorandum in February concerning 40 percent of Glencore’s interests. The copper-cobalt operations are in Lualaba, near Kolwezi. Glencore put their combined enterprise value at about $9 billion and reported combined 2025 production of 247,800 metric tons of copper and 33,500 metric tons of cobalt. The proposed stake would give the consortium rights over a corresponding share of the mines’ output for nominated buyers.

Research traces rebel revenue through the beer trade

An October study by the Danish Institute for International Studies describes how armed groups tax beer shipments and other trade on eastern Congo’s roads. Beer entering Bukavu comes from Rwanda and Burundi; the researchers describe higher charges on Burundian suppliers than on Rwandan competitors. The trade gives rebel authorities a source of revenue beyond minerals.

Civil society identifies gaps in Lobito and Banana corridor plans

The Center for Research in Public Finance and Local Development says it could not find budget allocations for feasibility studies for the Lobito and Banana corridors in the 2023–2025 budgets it reviewed. It also says rules for sharing tax and transit revenue among the countries involved remain unclear. Other concerns in its assessment include limited consultation with affected communities, repeated local charges, corruption in business registration and tax concessions that could reduce public revenue.

Tax authority seals two Kinshasa hotels over invoice rules

Tax officials sealed the Pullman Grand Hôtel and Fleuve Congo Hôtel on Friday, October 23 during inspections of standardized-invoice compliance by businesses subject to value-added tax. The measure barred new guests pending payment of fines.

SNEL seeks debt restructuring and power-project financing

State electricity utility SNEL opened talks with six financial institutions, including JPMorgan, HSBC and Standard Chartered, about restructuring its debt and financing four electricity-generation and transmission projects. SNEL says debt payments consume about 60 percent of its revenue.

Cabinet adopts Dar es Salaam trade-corridor strategy

The cabinet adopted a strategy to draw more Congolese import and export traffic through Tanzania’s port of Dar es Salaam, a route serving eastern and southeastern DRC.

Kinshasa plans trial to move more fuel through existing pipeline

Authorities ordered a three-month test of an additive proposed by SEP Congo for the Ango-Ango–Kinshasa fuel pipeline. The chemical is designed to reduce turbulence and friction inside the pipe so more fuel can pass through at the same pumping pressure.