Selection of research sites and choice of participants in the study

The choice of research sites reflects my own working experience and my study of the literature on conflict dynamics. The rationale behind the choice of these places is first, to maximize the chances of meeting relevant informants and a variety of actors and networks that are linked to the issues raised in the study. Second, I chose these places based on where peacebuilding programs have

50 been implemented, and lastly based on their accessibility considering the security factor prevailing in the region where the study was conducted.

Additionally, the choice of Bashali in Masisi was made on basis of two major reasons. The first reason is the geopolitical position. With an area of 1,582km², Bashali shares borders with both Rutshuru and Walikale territories. These two territories as well as Masisi are repeatedly portrayed as areas where the questions of land, identity and power have been acute, in the history of violent conflict between Banyarwanda and other groups (Mararo 2002, Marthieu and Tsongo 1998). Not only because of the presence of Banyarwanda contested by other rival groups (especially Hunde), but particularly because Bashali has been an important place where social, economic and political struggles involving several actors have been going on for more than two decades. The second reason is that Masisi and Bashali in particular has remained a hot spot for violent conflicts and one where peacebuilding and humanitarian interventions have been implemented. In addition, the presence of a large UN Peacekeeping military base and field offices of international organizations make Bashali important to this study.

Based on the pilot fieldwork research conducted in Bashali in early 2014, I have chosen Kitchanga and Kilolirwe (both in Bashali Chieftaincy), Rubaya and Sake in Bahunde Chieftaincy and finally Masisi-center, the administrative center of Masisi territoire. Kitchanga is the administrative center of Bashali. It is where both government services and customary institutions are located. Kitchanga hosts field offices of several organizations, both international (NGOs and UN agencies) and Congolese. Kitchanga is on the border with Rutshuru territoire and the Virunga National Park, which has attracted armed groups to set up their headquarters in the surroundings, as for example in the case of the CNDP rebellion between 2004-2009. The historical cleavages between different groups have remained explosive and a potential for violence. For example, some Hutu leaders continue to claim to be the first arrived ‘autochthons’ of Kitchanga, which has been the Hutu traditional headquarters since the immigration time, whereas Hunde customary chiefs contest this Hutu claim. Details are discussed in chapter six.

Kilolirwe is about 70 km from Goma city and hosted the CNDP Headquarters till 2009. Powerful individuals, leading figures during the RDC and CNDP rebellions, own large areas of land and land-related conflicts are frequent. Kilolirwe also hosts a local committee created by LPI and ASP as a mechanism of conflict transformation.

51 Rubaya is located in Bahunde Chieftaincy north-west of Sake and south-west of Masisi-center, at around 55 km from Goma. Rich mineral deposits continue to attract the surrounding populations.

The population of Rubaya was estimated at 100,000 persons in 2013 (Channel Research 2013: 9) and is expected to double in the next few years. People come from different ethnic backgrounds:

Hutu, Tutsi, Hunde and Shi from South Kivu, Kano and Tembo originating from the border area of Masisi-Walikale. Besides the mining sector, Rubaya is the stronghold of ‘big men’ who control both the mining sites and huge plots of farmland. The headquarters of Nyatura, one of the most important armed groups in Masisi, are located in the surroundings of Rubaya. Like Kitchanga, Rubaya has also attracted both humanitarian and peacebuilding organizations. One of the examples is Search For Common Ground, an American NGO, which implemented a project entitled

‘Peacebuilding in artisanal mining areas of North Kivu Province’ in 2012, in partnership with the UNDP, UNICEF and FAO and funded by the Japanese government.

52 Map 4 Research site areas

Sake is a city located 25km west of Goma, at the crossroads between Masisi and the territoire of Kalehe in the province of South Kivu. Sake also hosts the land registry, a public technical service of land management for Masisi territory. Sake is one of the cities of Masisi which has attracted peace building interventions.

53 The city of Goma is crucial to this study, also for secondary data collection. Like Kinshasa, it is an important center for several actors who feature in this study. Goma as the capital city of North Kivu province hosts public institutions, UN agencies and international NGOs. Goma is also the headquarters of many Congolese civil society organizations, especially in the peacebuilding sector.

Three categories of organizations were considered in this study. The first category is the political and administrative institutions of government. These include: The provincial ministry of land, the provincial division of agriculture, the provincial office of the national electoral commission, the provincial division of Titres Immobiliers, an administrative service of land management which includes the land registry, and STAREC. The second category is the international actors, which include UN agencies and NGOs. According to the list of organizations located in Goma published in 2015 by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Goma was then hosting 13 UN agencies and 92 international NGOs. The sectors of intervention varied from conflict management to humanitarian programs while integrating some cross-cutting themes such as gender, environment, capacity building, and advocacy. With the creation of the government’s stabilization and reconstruction program (STAREC) in 2009 and of the Stabilization Support Unit (SSU) by MONUSCO in 2010, these became the main planning and coordination framework for stabilization interventions in eastern DR Congo, with Goma being the operational center of this coordination. Apart from this coordination, there are other thematic cluster groups. One of them is the Coordination Foncière, which is a working group comprising all organizations (UN, international NGOs and Congolese organizations) intervening in land issues. Since 2009 when the Coordination Foncière was created, the chairperson of this cluster has been the provincial minister of land. The presence of all these organizations has made Goma a networking place where useful information can be collected.

Another aspect is that many of the key informants in this study live in Goma. These informants include businessmen and political actors who have direct connections with Masisi. Goma was also the headquarters of the RCD rebellion between 1998 and 2003 and in 2009 the ‘Goma Conference’

brought several armed groups from North and South Kivu to negotiate a ceasefire with the government. Ever since, Goma has been a strategic meeting point for of a variety of actors, many of whom are the former members of different rebellions. Currently, powerful individuals with connections to different armed groups in Masisi are also located in Goma, from where they connect different levels: the local (Masisi) to the national (Kinshasa).

54 In order to reach some of these actors, this study included the city of Gisenyi in Rwanda. The first reason is that there is a sizeable Congolese Tutsi community living in Gisenyi since the RCD rebellion (1998-2003) and many of the active members of the CNDP and M23 rebellions (2005-2013) are established in Gisenyi. With the defeat of these rebellions, former influential members continue to believe that their security is not guaranteed in DR Congo. Gisenyi has therefore become a sort of safe haven for them, since many of them applied for the amnesty promised by the government in 2013 but fear to return to DR Congo until this amnesty is implemented. Rwanda hosts them alongside M23 troops who are also waiting for their return and integration into the Congolese national army. The political negotiation between M23 and the Congolese government which was supposed to facilitate their return is pending. The second reason is that although some Congolese informants live in Gisenyi for various reasons, many of them spend their weekdays in Goma. When I was negotiating the time for interviews, it happened that weekends were a convenient moment for them.