19 January 2015 DRC protests
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On 19 January 2015, protests led by students at the University of Kinshasa broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The protests began following the announcement of a proposed law that would allow the country's 43-year-old president, Joseph Kabila, to remain in power until a national census could be conducted. Elections had been planned for 2016 and a census would be a massive undertaking that would likely take several years for the developing country.[6][7]
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Date | 19–25 January 2015 | ||
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Death(s) | 27 (government claim[3]) – 42 deaths (Reuters claim)[4] 36 confirmed by Human Rights Watch[5] |
By 21 January, clashes between police and protesters had claimed at least 42 lives[6] (although the government claimed only 15 people had been killed, most by security guards while looting[citation needed]; the government later adjusted that figure to 27 killed[3]). As a result of the protests the government closed certain radio stations,[8] and cut all internet, SMS and 3G communication in the country on 20 January.[9]
Following a series of meetings between foreign diplomats and Congolese government officials, the Congolese Senate passed the law, omitting the controversial census clause, and the opposition called off further protests.[4]