Kolwezi forced evictions (Cité Gécamines, DRC)
Amnesty International and a Congolese rights group documented forced evictions around six copper and cobalt projects near Kolwezi, and reported about 39,000 residents of Cité Gécamines under threat from a Zijin–Gécamines mine.
Amnesty International report, September 2023.
Status As of September 2023: Amnesty report published; Chemaf agreed to pay USD 1.5 million while denying fault; no ruling found.
- Chemaf, ERG and COMMUS (Zijin–Gécamines) — Named as operators of the projects concerned; mining expansion. Amnesty International UK
- Residents of Cité Gécamines and Mukumbi — Homes; about 39,000 people in Cité Gécamines reported under threat. Amnesty International UK
- Evicted residents — Arson, beatings and sexual assault documented. Amnesty International UK
What happened
In September 2023 Amnesty International and the Congolese organisation IBGDH published a report on copper and cobalt mining expansion around Kolwezi. It documented forced evictions, arson, beatings and sexual assault linked to six projects, based on more than 130 interviews.
The report said that in the Cité Gécamines neighbourhood, home to about 39,000 people, houses had been marked with red crosses, and that the area was threatened by the mine of COMMUS, a partnership between Zijin and Gécamines. It said the village of Mukumbi, of about 400 structures, was burned in 2016.
The report named Chemaf, ERG (whose largest shareholder is the government of Kazakhstan) and the Zijin–Gécamines partnership COMMUS. Chemaf agreed to pay USD 1.5 million but denied fault.
A 62-year-old resident evicted from his home told Amnesty that company and government representatives had come and told residents there was a mine in the area.
- 2016Mukumbi village, about 400 structures, burned (Amnesty report)
- 2023September: Amnesty International and IBGDH publish the report on evictions around six cobalt and copper projects; Chemaf agrees to pay USD 1.5 million and denies fault
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Documented forced evictions, arson, beatings and sexual assault around six projects.
Amnesty International UKHow it looked
Shown
Recorded
- Forced evictions, arson, beatings and sexual assault documented around six projects near Kolwezi, based on more than 130 interviews.
- About 39,000 people in Cité Gécamines reported under eviction threat from the COMMUS mine; houses marked with red crosses.
- Mukumbi village, about 400 structures, burned in 2016.
- Chemaf agreed to pay USD 1.5 million and denied fault.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Chemaf (2023): Agreed to pay USD 1.5 million but denied fault. · Amnesty International UK
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Accounts
- Disputed Responsibility for the evictions
Record
- None on record Chemaf agreed to pay USD 1.5 million but denied fault; to whom and on what terms is not stated in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed describe the Cité Gécamines evictions as a continuing threat as of September 2023.
Who paid?
Residents of the affected neighbourhoods, according to Amnesty International and IBGDH.
Sources
Communities and civil society
- DR Congo: Huge expansion of cobalt and copper mining wrecking lives (new report)Amnesty International UK · 2023-09-12
- Powering Change or Business as Usual?Amnesty International Ireland · 2023-09
Connected cases
- Jakarta counted 113 forced evictions in 2015, most without resettlement housing Indonesia · 2015–2017 Related matter
- Study estimates 2,000 tonnes of uranium in DR Congo cobalt exports Democratic Republic of the Congo · 2000–2024
- Chemaf (Company) — here: Mining company named in the report; there: agreed to pay in a case over Kolwezi evictions; denies fault
- Amnesty International (NGO) — here: Documented the evictions; there: documented evictions and abuses near Kolwezi
- Addis Ababa riverside and corridor demolitions led to evictions without compensation Ethiopia · 2020–2024
- Amnesty International (NGO) — here: Documented the evictions; there: called for a halt to evictions
- Kabwe lead-poisoning claim against Anglo American is under appeal in South Africa Zambia · date not stated
- Amnesty International (NGO) — here: Documented the evictions; there: advocate reporting on the case
- Lagos waterfront evictions (Otodo-Gbame, Badia East) and Eko Atlantic Nigeria · 2014–2026
- Amnesty International (NGO) — here: Documented the evictions; there: NGO; recorded evictions and deaths
- Ngorongoro and Loliondo relocations Tanzania · 1992–2026
- Amnesty International (NGO) — here: Documented the evictions; there: NGO; reported on forced evictions
- Niger Delta oil spills and sabotage attribution (Shell, Eni) Nigeria · 2008–2022
- Amnesty International (NGO) — here: Documented the evictions; there: NGO; report on spill investigations
- Ogoniland and Bodo spills clean-up (SPDC, HYPREP) Nigeria · 1958–2026
- Amnesty International (NGO) — here: Documented the evictions; there: Reported on spill-cause determination and sabotage attribution