June has been a very sad and bad month for human rights activists. For it is the same month in which DRC’s champion of human rights Floribert Chibeya Bahizire, (the chair of Voix des Sans-Voix [Voice of the Voiceless]), was grisly felled. Also June witnessed a hot debate and condemnation over illegal arrest of professor Peter Erlinder in Rwanda, after he arrived there to defend Victoire Ingabire, the leader of opposition. His arrest apart from being illegal and gross violation of human right by power maniacs, has proved beyond doubt that Ingabire has already been convicted without being heard. This is a blow and shame to Rwanda.

The family of human rights activists the world over is weeping thanks to the untimely and brutal death of Chibeya and his driver on Wednesday 2 June 2010. Preliminary reports had it that the late Chibeya was asked to meet with DRC’s National Police Commissioner, General John Numbi (who also is a Kabila’s kingpin-cum-link with Rwandan regime and the close associate of Laurent Nkunda (the renegade general). He was required to do so a day before his demise.

Other reports have it that one, Colonel Daniel Mukalay (the head of the police intelligence unit DRGSS), confessed to have killed Chibeya but without intent to do so! Unfortunately though, the reports did not disclose what was Mukalay doing with Chibeya so as to end up killing him without intent to do so? What was the intent of being with Chibeya? There’s something fishy hither.

Doesn’t this show that all the nasty so-called stage-managed exhibits found alongside the body of Chibeya, namely condoms and Viagra were planted by the security agents, whom by looking at the personalities involved, were ordered by the top to finish up this provocateur in a brutal and degrading way?

If anything, this shows how stupid and myopic our criminal regimes act and how heartless, cannibalistic and shameless they are. I suppose they wanted us to believe that Chibeya died as results of Viagra overdose, but what of his driver? I am trying to address this issue in order to convince the masses to dispel and ignore allegations by deeds and implications that Chibeya’s death is related to sexual matters in anyway. This shame does not affect Chibeya but Kabila, his regime and the whole nation. The condoms and Viagra found besides the body were planted in order to shame the deceased and disguise the actual cause of his death.

Many international figures have urged DRC’s authorities to bring Chibeya’s killers to book. But is this enough? Given that the whole circumstances of Chibeya’s death leads directly to the high and mighty in the current regime, why shouldn’t the whole government been held responsible?

Reports had it recently that DRC was due to enjoy the cancellation of about $8,000,000,000 from its debt to international community. Why should such a reward be given to a blood-spurting regime? Why shouldn’t the donors squeeze it to see to it that the butchers of Chibeya are facing the music? Shall donors commit this silent conspiracy, they’d know they’re but blessing the assassinations and intimidation of human rights activists. Thus defeat their stance on restoration and promotion of true democracy.

The US State department issued its statement as thus: “We are concerned about the killing of human rights defenders in DRC in recent years, and note that the Congolese human rights groups remain  particularly vulnerable to arbitrary arrests and detention and other abuses by security forces.” To be concern only does not address or arrest this chronic anathema, the US State department confesses of. We need actions not sweet words. Crocodile tears can not help anything given that thuggish and murderous regimes in Africa are kept in power by the same rich countries conveying such “heartfelt condolences and condemnations.”

Though the whole issue is still under investigation, circumstantially, one may point a finger at the high and mighty that were on the list of Chibeya, thanks to their violating human rights in DRC. And this becomes my concern, thanks to technical-know-who and protectionism in the upper echelons of power in Africa. To fully substantiate this I shall cite the demise of former Kenyan foreign minister Robert Ouko’s mysterious death as an example on 13 February 1990 among and others. Many high and mighty close to the then president Daniel arap Moi were water-tightly implicated. But thanks to Moi’s barbaric state of terror and protectionism, the same criminals are still free so as to vie even for political posts and Moi got away with it! Another example is the highly suspicious death of General James Kazini in neighbouring Uganda on 11 November 2009. Since his suspicious demise, apart from arresting pawns, who has ever been brought to book? Who is squeezing the authorities to deliver justice? There are many living examples of which the most controversial and laughable is the felling of Tanzania former prime minister Edward Sokoine in 1984.

The media reported that the late Chibeya was supposed to meet IGP Numbi whom, sadly though he didn’t meet except his death. What does this tell especially about the person responsible for security of the whole nation? And mark this, Chibeya had received many threats from high placed people among whom Numbi was mentioned. Also his being nosey to the government did not augur well with president Joseph Kabila.

Now that evidence point at Kabila’s men, why shouldn’t he be squeezed to tell us who killed Chibeya? It is right time to ask Kabila and co who killed Chibeya and why?

Nkwazi Mhango is a Tanzanian living in Canada. He writes regularly for “The African Executive” and also has a blog entitled “Free Thinking Unabii”. He is a regular contributor to AfroSpear.