Several villages in the chieftaincy of Kolofuma, located in the Kongo Central province, in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are claiming their lands back. These populations say they have been deprived of their heritage following agreements signed between their ancestors and JVL. Agreements that, according to these populations, date from the colonial era and should therefore be null and void as they do not benefit from them.
"We have gained independence. Everything should change! But, alas! JVL only sees its interests. We have filed several complaints with the government but we still have no solution because JVL has a lot of money. All it has to do is bribe everyone so that our files don't succeed. We claim our lands. There are no expanses to cultivate or practice livestock farming. JVL took everything," complained the notable of Kinsala village, Jean Sumu wa Punina.
The issue of land grabbing by large multinational companies in search of vast expanses to establish their activities is complex in the DRC and remains unresolved. According to experts, the problem of land allocation arises due to the lack of a well-defined land management plan in the country since colonial times. But they believe that thanks to ongoing reforms, a change could happen in this sector because, in addition to seizing land, these companies destroy the environment.
"This issue concerns the sub-region in general. This problem of land grabbing is serious in the country. But, reforms are underway. According to the national Redd plus framework strategy, the fight against deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions is current. When the country commits on an international level to respect the environment, it must ensure that the terms of agreements are respected by the companies because agro-pastoral activities are one of the drivers of deforestation. Animals ravage the forest. What I do as advocacy is to push the government to finish the ongoing reforms. The companies must understand that these lands belong to the communities. We cannot expropriate an entire village, to the point where the residents lack even somewhere to gather firewood!", stated Nene Mainzana, National Coordinator of the Environmental Communicators Network (RCN).
What about the JVL company in Kolofuma?
The JVL company, hear Jules Van Lancker, was established in 1921 by a person bearing the same name. This company was purchased in 1958 by the Damseaux group. Following disagreements with the justice system, it closed its doors in 1970 only to reopen in 1996 with a change of name. It changed from JVL to SEBO and later Congo Frigo, then Orgaman, and finally SOGENAC. According to the owner, Jean Claude Damseaux, his company has contributed to the development of the DRC for several years through the agro-food sector but faces several injustices from time to time.
"We have faced the problem of anarchic constructions in our concessions. Plots of land were often sold to magistrates. Yet, all our documents are in order. We pay what is due to the state. But, we were forced to change name, not to evade taxes but just to evolve differently," declared Jean Claude Damseaux, owner. "Regarding Orgaman for example, we had to stop because the fraud was massive, to the point where it was no longer competitive. VAT had been increased by 16%. It's huge! If it could be 4%, for example, it could be manageable. We even wrote to the Ministry of Economy, but no solution was found. At some point, we think the state will have to tell us the truth if it thinks we are no longer useful!", he reacted.
Before 1960, lands were acquired by companies through arrangements between these enterprises and landowners. As of 1966, the ordinance-law proposed by deputy Bakajika Diyi under late president Mobutu, the assignments of forest concessions were regulated by the legal regime of land ownership which stipulated that this national law should sovereignly regulate the legal regime of land sales and concessions made before June 30, 1960.
This ordinance-law specified that "the soil and the subsoil belong to the Congolese state." As a result, the law had attributed the ownership of rural lands to the state, excluding village and rural communities from their land heritage. Even those significant portions of the best indigenous lands allocated to colonists before 1960 were henceforth owned by the state. Since then, despite the land vacancy surveys conducted in Kolofuma, nothing has changed.
"In any case, I pay all my taxes as it should be. All my documents are in order. We went to court with all the people who accuse me of having seized their lands. I had won all the lawsuits. I acknowledge that sometimes I have people arrested who want to create disorder in the concessions, because I am in order with the state. These communities had received gifts so that our grandparents could obtain these lands. What more do they want?", Mr. Damseaux wondered.
If the law states that the lands belong to the state and that JVL claims to be in order with the state, what should these populations of nearly 108 villages of Kolofuma deprived of their lands do, in particular in Kinsala, the center of JVL?
A law that will resolve this land allocation problem that continues to divide populations. The people's representatives think that this is a question that deserves a lot of attention before making the decision public. "The law is in progress. The proposal still has some gray areas, which is why it is taking time to be enacted. It must find a middle ground. That is to say that on one hand, we support the state administration, but on the other, also the population. Because, this is a form of the state in our villages. Thus, the coexistence between the administration of the state and the social life of the population must have a complementarity," specified deputy Célestin Ingelemba.
"It's a very sensitive issue. It cannot be resolved in court. These companies cannot settle wherever they want without the agreement of the occupants. The villages contain a whole sociology. They have cemeteries, sacred forests, and an entire history linked to their villages from generation to generation. Everything cannot be broken overnight. That's why a diagnosis of land governance was made. The main land problems in the country had to be identified. Then, project into the future with directions within the framework of the new policy. We have seen companies that alone hold large areas that were not acquired in the most compliant manner. And, next to them, you have populations deprived of their lands and their crops. So, it's a case to be analyzed objectively. We have worked diligently on the formulation of land policy. A draft proposal for a law has already been deposited in parliament," explained Me Augustin Mpoyi, expert in public policy and environmental laws and natural resources management, and Principal Technical Advisor of Codelt.
What about the arrangements between JVL and the communities?
The lands that JVL occupies today in the Kolofuma sector, in the village of Kinsala, are the result of arrangements between the communities and the company before independence, according to Jean Claude Damseaux. According to a report read on-site in Kinsala, an undated examination of the request for restitution of the lands of Kinsala, introduced by the citizen Balu Vanangina and signed by the investigator Nzita-di-Lusala, Assistant Zone Commissioner before 1960, attests that 3 dates marked the definitive sale of these lands to the JVL company, namely: October 3, 1946, when the Chief of Kinsala village, Sumu Ndomingiele, had received a sum of 25000 francs for abandoning the right of occupation and 91157 francs respectively for abandoning the rights of cultivation, fishing, and gathering. Then, on February 19, 1947, the colony ceded to JVL a 227 ha land in exchange for about 45ha of land to be re-taken in its 1500 ha property, following the exchange contract no. 203, and, according to the report from the Cataractes district administration of October 25, 1944, the Kiangala clan, through Mavunga Samuel, had received several hundred hectares to the north of the railway and 3 forests (Noto, Mbemba, and Mbamba), in exchange for the village of Kinsala, on May 15, 1946.
However, according to the villagers claiming these lands, their ancestors had ceded them in exchange for a few gifts such as salt, sugar, and salted fish. Things that do not at all suit the new occupants. "JVL set up its businesses where the population was. The latter were deported to be settled elsewhere, more than 2 km from their former place of residence. JVL and the State cannot say that these lands had been ceded willingly because, when the ancestors settled in a village, they examined several parameters: lands to cultivate, good water to drink, the forest... But, they had been installed in a place threatened by water and they were far from lands to cultivate. They travel more than 6km every day to go to the fields. In addition, they are forbidden to cut wood because everything is found in the JVL concession. Yet, their life is linked to the forest. Despite all the claims made to the company and the State, no solution is found," expressed indignation Victor Nzuzi Mbembe, president of the Mbanza-Ngungu Agricultural Consultation Framework.
Marie José Kiawamenga, imprisoned 4 times by JVL
Several sources on-site affirm that when JVL settled by moving the population of Kinsala, their sacred trees, their cemeteries, and all their culture remained on the JVL side. A situation that these villagers struggle to accept. But, other sources affirm that this is part of the agreements between JVL and the ancestors of Kinsala. Two correspondence letters written by this company to these communities affirm it: the first one dated October 18, 1985, referenced 5072/1346/7.22.J/Z.Mb.Ng/B.Z/85 forbidding hunting, circular parking, and cultivation in the JVL concession and amended by decision 5072/003/7.22.J/Z.MB.NG/BZ/87 on June 2, 1987, confirming this prohibition by JVL. A decision called by its author in a letter bearing reference no. 0045/09/RP/Y.NZ.K/NN on May 26, 2009, addressed to all village Chiefs.
The communities of Kolofuma call for the involvement of anyone who can help them get out of this problem that remains unresolved despite their numerous claims, which sometimes even cost them prison. "I was imprisoned 4 times for claiming our rights. As recently as 2022, I spent a month and a half in the central prison of Mbanza-Ngungu, simply because I went to claim my family's cemeteries. How can they remain on the JVL side? It's unacceptable! In 2016, they had imprisoned me again for cutting Kambala wood in our traditional forest. Yet, our family chief used to share this wood with JVL during his lifetime. Today, they say they have broken this agreement. That's why I went to cut them by force to sell a part and use another for the construction of a new house because the old one might fall soon. When JVL had me arrested, a Prosecutor ordered to transfer all this wood to Mbanza-Ngungu. We are not even allowed to fish at our leisure. Before doing so, we must inform JVL in writing, then they send us guards to supervise our fishing. In the end, we are obliged to give a part of the fish to JVL. Are we free?", Marie-José Kiamenga from the village of Kinsala wondered.
According to these villagers, there is no longer a case to be made about the village at this location, as there are none left. According to the village Chief, they only occupy 45 hectares out of 3000. Yet, the population is growing day by day. All their claims for land restitution remain a dead letter. Notably, those of the letters no. 5072/D.35.j/940/Z.MB.NG/B.Z./78 of June 7, 1976, answered by JVL on June 13, 1979, in a correspondence no. 3072/1.240/B.Z/79. However, the company says it does not receive written claims from these communities.
"There is not enough space for all of us. They say they have given us 45 ha, but we have found out that there are actually only 28. Additionally, the small portion of land they have granted us is surrounded by water. When it rains, we are flooded. We are suffering here. Our ancestors were uneducated. So, they would put their fingerprints on documents without knowing the contents. Plus, the agreements signed between the two parties should have had a fixed duration. We lack drinking water because the river water is polluted by animal excrement. They even deposit it on the cassava that we dry. There's nothing we can do. They surround us. As for the fields, we have placed them in JVL enclosures for lack of land. Unfortunately, JVL's animals ravage them, and the company refuses to pay on the pretext that the animals are in their camp," added Ndongala Matuba.
All the populations of these villages, including Kinsala, hammer home that despite their claims, the JVL company turns a deaf ear because it is protected by several politico-military authorities. In the meantime, these residents continue to be deprived of their lands because of the expanses occupied by JVL. A claim that the company vehemently denies.
"We take into account the claims of those who reach out to us in writing. The only letter I have is from February 22, 2022, referenced 02/CLDI/KOLO FUMA/MMP/2022 by the active forces of Kongo Central. The village of Kinsala always approaches us verbally. It doesn't work like that. I am their son, in the Kiangala clan. Yet, JVL has given me work. The point is not just to claim. They must do it in the norms. Moreover, they block themselves because they do not tell the truth. They did not have 3000 ha in the beginning, but rather 1200. There are villages that have received responses such as Kiduma and Sumpi, to whom some parts of the lands are returned. Thanks to agreements made, all these villages now belong to Sogenac. JVL is studying their files case by case. We will find solutions. The company arranges to give them a neighborhood gift at the end of each year. This shows that it seeks to live in harmony with the residents," defended Jean Kimpwanza, in charge of Public Relations and Customary Affairs at JVL/Kolofuma.
However, our sources claim that on June 12, 2009, the village Chiefs had responded through letter referenced 156/09/DA/MB, to a correspondence from JVL of June 2, 2009, no. 0045/RP/YNZK/NM relating to the destruction of its fences for the gathering of wood by the villagers. In this letter, the village Chiefs had clearly replied that they totally disagreed with this norm and that they will continue to source wood as and when they please because they are at home.
The relationship between JVL and the communities
The neighborhood gift that the JVL company distributes is an act that, despite its good intention, annoys the villagers instead of pleasing them, the community members estimate. This gift consists of slaughtered cows distributed by village, according to their expanses. Some receive one cow and others, one and a half.
"We do not understand this story of good neighborliness at all. JVL is on our lands and we want it to release them. It amazes us to see that it considers us as neighbors. We are not neighbors! It occupies our lands," hammered the village chief of Kinsala, Ndongala Matuba.
Phrases that all the inhabitants of the village repeat. "We are not neighbors. They must stop considering us as such. They must release our lands!", they insist unanimously. "In my opinion, JVL should hand over live cattle to these villages every year. Thus, they could raise them and organize in their way. Why give them meat? And in insufficient quantities at that," questioned Victor Nzuzi, president of the Mbanza-Ngungu Agricultural Consultation Framework.
Beyond this aspect, these populations complain that JVL does not care about the schooling of their children as well as their health care as in other lands. "JVL had promised to set up dispensaries but we do not see them. We get treated by private facilities. Yet, we know that in the Mai-Ndombe province, in Muchie, JVL allows women to have access to health care and their children to study for free. But, this is not the case here. We are deprived of everything, even though the JVL Center is on our lands. They mistreat us and it hurts us a lot," expressed Ndona Luvumina Madeleine, village women's leader.
Reliable sources affirm that a report of a mission carried out in the village of Kinsala in accordance with letters no 3072/279/CAT/2014 and the mission orders no. 3072/160/CAT/BC/2014 and no. 3072/161/CAT/BC/2014 by Tukulu Nene Digeluka, Ir Yabula Nsiku, Nsamu Muanda, and Seke Zoyala, respectively Cataractes District Commissioner, Head of the Cataractes vegetation production cell, district protocol, and Cataractes Environment and Nature Conservation Coordinator, had concluded the following: "the population of Kinsala can only find a lasting solution with a modus vivendi that can be found between the Kinsala farmers and Sogenac, according to practical modalities to be defined. The two parties are condemned to live together and have the obligation to collaborate for reciprocal interests for lasting peace."
According to experts, the laws that govern this sector stipulate that companies that want to occupy lands are obliged to do so by respecting the FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent) of the communities. This is not the case for JVL as the population does not want to hear that this company should remain in this village, despite the agreements. Hence, the need for the involvement of the competent authority, in order to find a lasting solution to this problem before it leads to loss of life. "I am a rightful claimant of Kito Maluta. "I spent 5 years in Makala prison, in Kinshasa because of these claims. Anyway, I'm not happy with JVL. I work for them, but I only earn 10,000 fc per month as salary. How am I supposed to take care of my family? We will go 20 years without benefiting from anything. Should we ask for a new independence? When we complain to the peace court of Mbanza-Ngungu, the state does nothing at all. Besides, me, a villager who has nothing, what will this court do for me? Nothing gets resolved there without money. That's why I'm getting ready to go kill JVL's cows again to sell. I have to feed my children. If they send me to prison again like in past years, there's no problem. As long as my family doesn't die of hunger," Vuata Ngemba confesses, revolted by the status quo in this conflict inherited from ancestors.
All our efforts to reach the judicial authorities of Mbanza-Ngungu on one hand and those of Kinshasa on the other hand have been in vain. This report was produced with the support of the Rainforest Journalism Fund in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center.
Sarah Mangaza