A Mennonite Central Committee representative in Central Africa mediated a regional peace agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year.
Mulanda Jimmy Juma, MCC representative for Burundi and Rwanda, accepted an invitation from United Nations peacekeepers to serve as the chief mediator.
“I grew up in DRC in the midst of war, so I understand the culture, the context and the languages,” Juma said in an MCC release.
UN officials knew of Juma’s previous mediation work. His expertise with peacebuilding started with MCC training and continued as he earned master’s and doctoral degrees.
The conflict to be mediated began in December after an armed group known as the Wazalendo entered the town of Bunyakiri in South Kivu Province. Tension rose with civilians, police and the Congolese army.
The Wazalendo killed two people, and an outraged motorcycle taxi driver retaliated by killing a member of the Wazalendo. When the conflict boiled over to the surrounding area, the Wazalendo prepared to fight another armed group.
Fearing the kind of large-scale massacre that has happened too often in the eastern DRC, UN peacekeepers and the provincial government organized a mediation team.
In late January, Juma arrived in Bunyakiri by helicopter because roads were insecure. He was astonished to find 200 people gathered: army commanders, police, village chiefs, pastors and the leaders of five armed groups.
“I could feel the tension rise when we learned another civilian was killed in a nearby village by an armed group,” Juma said. “Throughout that day and the next, we could hear weapons firing. Even the meeting place was full of guns. . . . I used my sense of humor to ease the tension.”
When the leaders of two armed groups walked out, Juma convinced them to return. He spoke privately with key leaders to win their trust.
Finally, all participants agreed to ban combatants from carrying weapons in villages and to put an end to illegal checkpoints, increased road taxes and illegal detention centers.
A monitoring team was set up to ensure compliance. Five months later, there has been no further violence.
“As a Christian, I believe that God makes a way where there seems to be no way,” Juma said.
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