SAEMAPE Director General and Lualaba Provincial Director Suspended by Mines Minister

Mines Minister Louis Kabamba Watum suspended SAEMAPE Director General Jean-Paul Kapongo Kadiobo and the agency’s Lualaba provincial director, Georges Nyembo Kitungwa, in orders signed in Kinshasa on October 21, 2026. Both officials are accused of failing to prevent illegal artisanal mining and the unauthorized installation of revenue-collection services inside mining concessions. The orders say these practices may have infringed concession holders’ rights and exposed the Congolese state to the consequences of losses suffered by third parties. The suspensions took effect upon signing; the order concerning Nyembo Kitungwa also cites preliminary findings from a special mission in Lualaba.