DRC's second city hit by murder spree - eco crisis possible cause

By Miriam Mannak (from Lubumbashi /DRC)

Over the past week, thirteen people were murdered in Lubumbashi- the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the capital of the Katanga province. Among the casualties are two Lebanese nationals and a man from China.

One of the two Lebanese victims was shot dead in by a Congolese who resides in South Africa. The other two were shot on Christmas day.

In contrary to the North East of the DRC, where a civil conflict rages, Lubumbashi is relatively peaceful and violent crimes such as murder are an exception ot the rule.

According to Lubumbashi’s mayor Marie-Gregoire Tambila it remains unclear why a killing spree is hitting her city. In a press statement she stated that the events could be linked to the impact of the economic crisis on the province – which is the epicenter of the DRC’s copper and cobalt industry.

Lubumbashi and surrounds have been hit profoundly by the economic crisis, which caused the commodity prices to plunge.  The copper price has for instance decreased with 50 percent since September this year. As a result, various mining companies closed down operations and retrenched their staff.

It is estimated that all in all 300.000 people lost their jobs over the past three months.

This adds to the desperation experienced by the Congolese living in the region where unemployment and extreme poverty are rampant. It is estimated that one mine workers support between eight and ten people, which means that 2.4 million to 3 million people are affected by the developments in the mining industry.