Maniema: NGOs Denounce a Mafia Network in the Exploitation of Coltan and Cassiterite

November 2025

Two human rights defence organisations, PELDDH (Patrice Emery Lumumba for Community Development, Defence and Promotion of Human Rights) and IPDHOR (Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights and Social Reintegration), are sounding the alarm on a presumed mafia system surrounding the exploitation of coltan and cassiterite in Maniema province.

In a joint communiqué, these NGOs denounce an industrial exploitation tainted by corruption, environmental destruction and serious violations of workers’ rights.

Companies singled out Investigations conducted on the mining sites of Punia, Losso and Lubutu implicate several companies, notably Terra Kara, Britcon, Sakima and Congo Janxie.

According to the NGOs, these companies operate in total opacity, without respecting community specifications or honouring the social commitments made to local populations.

The reports also mention accelerated deforestation, alarming environmental degradation and the complicit silence of certain provincial and national authorities.

PELDDH and IPDHOR mention the disappearance of official statistics, under-declaration of extracted volumes, and the existence of a predation network involving political, administrative and military actors.

Alarming working conditions On the social level, the situation remains critical. The two organisations denounce abusive dismissals, the absence of final settlements, inhuman working conditions and derisory wages that do not take into account the arduous nature of the tasks.

“These practices violate not only Congolese legislation but also international conventions on decent work,” they state in their communiqué.

Call for an investigation and sanctions Faced with these abuses, PELDDH and IPDHOR call on the Minister of Mines to open an independent investigation to identify the accomplices of this system of illegal exploitation.

They demand exemplary sanctions against the companies implicated, compensation for damages suffered by workers, and referral to justice so that the perpetrators answer for their actions.

The two organisations reaffirm their commitment to responsible, transparent mining exploitation that respects human rights, the environment and community development.

By Pierre Kabakila