Bosco Ntaganda: the Terminator’s golden business

A murky deal involving millions of dollars in smuggled gold is the latest scandal engulfing the International Criminal Court indictee Bosco Ntaganda.

By Lisa Clifford, London

Source: Published on : 2 March 2011 - 11:32am | By International Justice Tribune  

But analysts say allegations that Ntaganda is dealing in conflict minerals are unlikely to hasten his departure to The Hague where he is wanted on charges of recruiting children to fight in the north-eastern Ituri region in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The most recent chapter in the story of Ntaganda began on February 3 when a plane from Nigeria touched down at the airport in Goma, the sprawling capital of North Kivu province.

More than $6.5 million in cash was allegedly taken from the plane to Ntaganda’s compound, according to Fidel Bafilemba, a Goma-based researcher for the Enough Project. He says Ntaganda’s men later delivered more than 450 kilos of gold to the plane. The Congolese authorities then seized the gold and arrested four passengers – an American, a Frenchman and two Nigerians who remain in custody.

Ntaganda, known as the Terminator for alleged brutalities in Ituri, has denied any wrongdoing, suggesting he was actually attempting to foil a gold smuggling operation.

Bafilema doubts that anyone in DRC will be investigating too closely what really went on. He says Ntaganda is simply too powerful.

“No officials would dare to search his house, knowing they would likely face swift retribution from Bosco and his men.”

The ICC indictment has so far proved no impediment to Ntaganda who has continued to amass wealth and power in North and South Kivu where he headed the ex-rebel group, the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).

He was awarded the rank of Congolese army general after turning on former CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda and helping broker a peace deal with the government. Nkunda is now imprisoned in Kigali, while Ntaganda went on to play a key role in the United Nations-sponsored campaign to drive out the Rwandan rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

According to Enough, Ntaganda and other Congolese army officers have used the departure of the FDLR from key mining sites to enrich themselves, taking over the mines and continuing the illegal trade in conflict minerals.

Though the former CNDP fighters have now joined the chaotic Congolese army, observers say the integration exists in name only, with the likes of Ntaganda and other senior CNDP members continuing to operate parallel command structures.

“The CNDP troops obey CNDP officers,” said Thierry Vircoulon, the International Crisis Group’s project director for central Africa. “They all went into the army, got new uniforms, and that’s all.
Child soldier recruitment continues to be a problem in the east - though the fighting officially ended in 2009, many children are still missing.

“Ntaganda and other officers close to him have been centrally involved in the forced recruitment of adults and boys,” said Carina Tertsakian, a researcher at HRW.

Under pressure from the international community and human rights groups, Ntaganda has since stepped back from the ongoing military campaign against the FDLR, but his profile remains high in the east.

“He may not be visible in [military] operations, but he is certainly very visible in a more general way in Goma,” said Tertsakian. “He is often seen wandering around in all the well known restaurants and hotels, hanging out in same places where many diplomats and UN personnel go.”

The Congolese government has refused to arrest Ntaganda, saying he is too crucial to the peace process. Government officials insist that one day he could be sent to The Hague, and Ntaganda has said he will go when the time is right.

Vircoulon, however, doubts Kinshasa will ever transfer the general to the ICC. He says it’s more likely that Ntaganda will be quietly neutralised when he becomes a liability for the government.

“He could be arrested and charged for the stuff he has done,” said Vircoulon. “The procedure will drag on and he will lead a quiet life in Kinshasa, like Nkunda is doing now in Kigali. I know plenty of people who have been arrested by the Congolese authorities and are leading a nice life, paid for by the state.”