Samuel Mbemba Kabuya has officially assumed office as the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Minister of Human Rights, pledging a determined fight to restore the dignity and rights of all Congolese citizens.
The handover ceremony took place on Wednesday, August 13, at the ministry’s headquarters in Kinshasa’s Gombe district, attended by senior officials, staff members, and invited guests.
In his inaugural address, Mr Mbemba Kabuya expressed deep gratitude to President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi for “the choice placed on him” and to Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka for her confidence in bringing him into the government.
He said he was stepping into his new role with a “fighting spirit” to ensure respect for human rights across every sector of national life.
“I would first like to thank the President of the Republic, Félix Tshisekedi, for the trust he has placed in me.
I also thank Prime Minister Judith Suminwa for agreeing to allow me to participate in the Government she leads,” he told the audience.
Laying out his guiding principle, the new minister declared: “Human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
And yet, this is not the case for the Congolese in the East.
This is not the case for Congolese workers in the private sector; this is not the case for children in the mines; this is not the case for the environment in the DRC; this is not the case for the Congolese state itself, whose rights are not always respected by certain companies.
This is not the case for Congolese consumers in many sectors: food, telecommunications, and so on.
This is to say that it is in a combative spirit that I take on these duties.”
The ceremony marked the formal transition from outgoing minister Chantal Chambu Mwavita to her successor, in the presence of the Chief Advisor to the Head of State at the Legal College and the Secretary-General for Human Rights.
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