Congo:Arrest warrant against Pastor Ntumi in peace pool to be lifted

The joint commission charged with implementing the peace agreement of 23 December 2017 between the government and the former rebels of the Pool in Congo are hoping to remove an arrest warrant against their leader Frederic Bintsamou widely known as Pastor Ntumi.

This committee, made up of representatives of the government and those of Pastor Ntumi, considered that it was necessary for him to recover his rights and freedoms, so that he could be involved in the demobilization and disarmament of his ex-combatants.

‘‘On the collection of weapons, it was noted that for this action to be successful, it is essential to identify ex-combatants beforehand in order to avoid any intrusion. It was also noted that the involvement of Pastor Ntumi is essential to the success of this operation. To this end, the Commission has proposed that he should regain his freedom of movement”,Guillaume Désiré Bonkoutou, rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee on Negotiations said.

According to Pierre Mongo, one of the government’s representatives on these negotiations, the ceasefire is already in effect.

‘‘The agreement was signed a few days ago and we met to outline the broad outlines of its implementation. As you know, trust is gradually being restored. The ceasefire is also effective. In any case, we were in a more or less ridge ceasefire regime before the agreement was signed, so the agreement made it a reality. It’s good for everyone,” Pierre Mongo, one of the government’s negotiating representatives said.

After the signing of the ceasefire agreement and this first meeting of the ad hoc committee, which lasted four days, the signatories believe that they are moving on to the practical aspect which is the effective implementation of the agreement.