The surprising death, on Friday, September 12, of Brig Gen Daniel Mwaku Mbuluku, the commander of FARDC’s 33rd military region - a vast region covering South Kivu and Maniema provinces - represents a significant loss for the Congolese army coalition, particularly for operations in the volatile east where AFC/M23 rebels have seized swathes of territory. ALSO READ: 80-year-old Congolese reflects on lifetime of injustice, attacks in DR Congo Mwaku’s death came a day after the rebel movement condemned the “barbaric slaughtering and systematic massacres” of innocent civilians carried out by the Congolese army and its allies – the Rwandan genocidal militia known as FDLR, Wazalendo militia, foreign mercenaries, and Burundian forces – of conducting coordinated attacks targeting civilian populations in the region. ALSO READ: Tshisekedi says 'no dialogue outside' DR Congo According to a statement by army spokesperson Maj Gen Sylvain Ekenge, Mwaku was struck by a sudden health crisis while on duty and rushed to a hospital in Uvira, the only large city in the east not yet captured by the AFC/M23 rebels, where he passed away. Uvira, situated along Lake Tanganyika approximately 25 kilometers from Bujumbura, Burundi, is South Kivu's second-largest city after Bukavu which was captured by the rebels in February. Mwaku had only been in command of the 33rd military region since July 21 when he was appointed as part of broader military efforts to reassert Kinshasa’s control. Uvira had, for the past few days, been rocked with violent protests sparked by the recent appointment of Brig Gen Olivier Gasita as deputy commander of the 33rd military region. Wazalendo militia – a coalition of local militias supported by Kinshasa – who violently protested his appointment accused Gasita, a Munyamulenge, of being a Tutsi infiltrator. It is not yet clear who is now in charge of the 33rd military region after Mwaku’s death and considering the recent violent protests against Gasita, even though reportedly put down following the visit to the area by a delegation from Kinshasa.
