The Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church reports that the classrooms are occupied by a police unit that was recently deployed in the city of Kolwezi to ensure security following the December 20 elections throughout the Lualaba province.

"These officers have set up their barracks within the grounds of this institute. They have been able to use classrooms as sanitary facilities and have destroyed the benches by using them as firewood, resulting in the closure of this establishment," declared Father Benoît Mukwanga.

This situation is also denounced by the civil society, which is asking the competent authorities to station these officers elsewhere as their presence not only disrupts the proper functioning of activities but also the school calendar, according to information reported by Radio Okapi.

The surroundings of this school are becoming unlivable, other local sources in Kolwezi have claimed, and parents do not hide their indignation at the thought that it is in this environment that their children will study.

For Chadrac Mukad, the coordinator of the civil society of Lualaba, who has not remained indifferent, it is more than time for this school to resume its activities under good conditions. "We ask the authorities to be able to remove them as soon as possible so that [this Monday] the children can return to school, and it is necessary to properly clean up these environments, which are polluted today, to allow the children to live there," he added.

These students have seen their Christmas vacation involuntarily extended.

According to a source from the Lualaba provincial government contacted by Radio Okapi, the first group of officers has already left the facilities of this school. The second and last group should vacate the place by Saturday.

All will be in their barracks arranged by the Lualaba provincial executive on the Manga Manga site in the Mutshatsha territory. And the provincial government will be responsible for the cleaning up of the environment to enable the students of this institute to resume their educational activities.

As a reminder, these officers were stationed at this school while the students were on vacation.

Gisèle Mbuyi