Lutte pour le changement
Lutte Pour Le Changement is a group based in Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo who fights for a class of rights that protect Congoleses' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the Congolese society and state without discrimination or repression.
The group is a youth-led, nonviolent citizen movement that emerged in 2012 in Goma and soon expanded across North Kivu and into rural areas. Its main goal is to provide an alternative to the armed groups, political parties and NGOs in the DRC that have long dominated the eastern political space. LUCHA frames itself as engaging in a triple critique against the government, civil society and the international community at large. Yet, unlike the armed groups in the area, it does not seek to replace the state, but rather to hold it accountable. Formed amid widespread frustration with corruption, insecurity and delayed elections under President Joseph Kabila, the movement became a prominent voice in nationwide calls for democratic accountability and political reform.
The movement is known for its horizontal organizational model and its guiding philosophy, Luchologie, which emphasizes ethical activism, collective leadership and independence from state institutions and foreign donors. Its campaigns have addressed issues such as access to basic services, arbitrary detention, electoral manipulation and local governance and LUCHA played a visible role in the protests that pressured Kabila´s government to hold long-delayed national elections.
Despite its commitment to nonviolence, LUCHA activists have faced sustained repression including arrests, intimidation, surveillance and internet shutdowns. Human rights organizations have reported that authorities tried to treat the movement as a crime and limit public freedoms by restricting civic space, particularly during the state of siege declared in North Kivu and Ituri in 2021.
Beyond political mobilization, LUCHA has also strongly influenced youth culture in Eastern Congo, inspiring a wave of artistic activism known as "Artivisme". This form of art uses slam poetry, music and visual arts to promote civic engagement and critique governance. The movement is also recognized as a grassroots actor in transitional justice efforts, contributing to local accountability initiatives and advancing guarantees of non-recurrence in conflict-affected communities.
Background
This group was born out of frustration with the current political process and diminished social condition in the Democratic Republic of Congo by a group of young Congolese students. These students understood that violence is not the way for anyone willing to find durable solutions to political and social disputes and wars that have torn their country apart for the past half century.The one thing that defines the Lutte Pour Le Changement activists is their love for their native DR Congo and the hope to see it prosperous and developed in their lifetime. They have decided to organize a series of non-violent actions throughout major cities in the country to shed light to some of the critical issues facing the Congolese population. Their actions are not limited to keeping politicians honest, but rather engaging the population into participating in the social issues debates. The movement started in the eastern city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-June 2011 and in no time, the movement had spread all the way to the west of the country, with famous members such as Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala being incarcerated since March 2015 at the Congolese National Intelligence Agency headquarters in Kinshasa. On March 15, 2015, according to the online news media Pragmora, "About 30 youth activists and international journalists and observers were arrested in Kinshasa during a youth workshop aimed at increasing youth participation in politics and the electoral process, and creating a new youth movement, Filimbi". In the recent uprising, many of the LUCHA activists arrested during Dec 19, 2016 have been released, including the 23 year old Gloria Sengha Panda Shala according to Ida Sawyer a Human Rights Watch Director in Central Africa.
The first LUCHA protest to receive widespread attention was the effort to get the young people to get involved in the 2011 presidential and legislatives elections by ensure that all eligible to vote got registered ahead of the upcoming the elections. Then followed a few actions in regards to lack of clean water in Goma and also issue with garbage waste in the same city. This movement got the eye of the Congolese people because this group managed first and foremost to get the general population to have a say in these critical matters facing their livelihood through the streets of various Congolese cities namely Kinshasa, Mbuji-Mayi, Lubumbashi, Kisangani and Goma.
Origins, context and political emergence
LUCHA was founded by university students in North Kivu protesting chronic poor governance, a lack of basic public services and ongoing insecurity. LUCHA´s name, Lutte pour le Changement draws inspiration from the Spanish term la lucha. LUCHA positions itself as a non-violent, youth-led movement committed to building a new Congo that is independent, united, peaceful and democratic. LUCHA deliberately situates itself in the tradition of Patrice Lumumba, invoking him in its manifesto and in members´ speeches. Lumumba functions as a central moral and historical reference for LUCHA and is portrayed as a Christ-like figure in Congolese political culture. LUCHA activists explicitly mobilize and claim his legacy in their works viewing him as their historical martyr.While LUCHA was born in the urban center of Goma, it quickly spread to remote towns and rural villages in North Kivu making it a national movement rather than an urban one which scholars describe as rare in African protest politics. As traditional chiefs lost influence due to large land and resource deals controlled by the state and outside actors, rural youth became less dependent on customary authority and more open to new forms of political organizing, including LUCHA. This reflected a shift toward nonviolent rural protest by mobilizing rural citizens through peaceful action rather than armed struggle. New rural economies also changed youth life with more people now working for wage jobs rather than solely being subsistence farmers. Especially in North Kivu, there was an expansion of artisanal and corporate mining jobs which increased mobility among the rural youth. This allowed them to move frequently between villages, mining sites, towns and Goma, which helped spread LUCHA´s message more easily.
The movement came about during the presidency of Joseph Kabila, at a time when the DRC faced deep political frustration. Kabila had been in power since 2001 and by 2012 and many Congolese believed his government was marked by corruption, weak institutions and repeated delays in democratic elections. According to political scientist Marta Iñiguez de Heredia, Kabila became widely criticized for ruling in an authoritarian and repressive way, allowing major human rights abuses to occur such as the killing of activist Floribert Chebeya. At this time, socioeconomic conditions deteriorated with over 90% of Congolese living on less than $3.10 a day. There were massacres and serious violence in places like Beni, Ituri and Kasai. Additionally, around 4.5 million people were forced to leave their homes.
In this climate of frustration and stagnation, new citizen movements began to emerge, with scholars claiming that LUCHA quickly became one of the most influential in challenging his prolonged rule. A long tradition of civil society in Congo of churches, unions, local associations and women's groups helped new groups to emerge. These movements greatly contributed to President Kabila´s decision to step down in December 30, 2018. He finally agreed to leave after being in power for almost 20 years and staying 2 extra years past his term limit. This date marked the second peaceful transfer of power in the nation´s history. After Kabila´s exit, Félix Tshisekedi took office in January 2019 following the elections. LUCHA argued that the political transition was incomplete and that meaningful democratic change required ongoing citizen mobilization, accountability and resistance to authoritarian tendencies. Many people argued that Martin Fayulu won more votes but a secret deal between Tshisekedi and Kabila was made to keep Kabila on power behind the scenes. Kabila´s party won about 70% of parliament seats showing how he kept major control.
The limits of the transition became visible after May 2021 when President Tshisekedi declared a state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri. This created an emergency regime that replaced all civilian authorities with military and police officials and transferred criminal jurisdiction to military courts. This state of siege reversed the core democratic gains that citizens expected after Kabila's departure. During this state, there was widespread violent repression of LUCHA activists revealing how dissent continued to be treated as a security threat and reflecting patterns associated with earlier authoritarian rule. Amnesty International´s Research shows that the state of siege did not have any immediate effect in improving security in the DRC but instead led to serious human rights violations, including restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and access to justice. During this time, LUCHA´s peaceful protests and ciriticism of the state of siege were framed as security threats. LUCHA members were blamed for supporting and collaborating with armed groups, especially the ADF, simply for organizing protests. The major of Butembo in North Kivu blamed the group for inciting civil disobedience by calling for strikes such as ville morte and for disobeying the law. Ville morte was a common form of peaceful protest in which business closed along with daily activities to show public opposition. LUCHA called for this shutdown in response to the persisting killings in Beni. On 17 August, local traders that responded to LUCHA´s calls by closing their shops were summoned by the police on accusations of civil rebellion. Due to people´s outrage of this event, the major eventually cancelled police orders and had the officer involved arrested.