A viral video of police shooting student protesters has sent shockwaves across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The protest broke out on the morning of 7 October amidst frustration over an ongoing teacher’s strike over low wages that kept students out of school in Matadi in western DRC.
According to local media ACTUALITE.CD, police arrested a dozen students for a hearing on 8 October at the Children’s Court while two officers were due for a hearing at the Matadi Military Court.
‘The students only have pens and notebooks,’ one anonymous person reportedly said. ‘Why do the police shoot innocent people and very young children when there is another way of doing it?’
Check out our exclusive interview with Maurice Odingo of the Marxist Pan-African organisation Kinshasa Committee. He relayed details from the scene.