In the streets of Kinshasa, they are known by different names depending on who is describing them. The youth wing of Congo’s ruling party is referred to by some residents as the street fighters, by others as Tshisekedi’s enforcers, and by yet others simply as a militia. What is not in dispute is their presence, their conduct, and the fear they inspire as the country edges toward a potentially destabilising presidential election in 2028.
The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), Congo’s ruling party, has an informal but increasingly visible youth structure that operates largely outside the formal party apparatus. Members have been implicated in a pattern of violence targeting journalists, civil society activists, opposition supporters, and ordinary citizens perceived to be critical of President Félix Tshisekedi’s administration.
A detailed investigation published by The Africa Report this week documented multiple cases of alleged brutality linked to the group, including beatings, intimidation, and targeted attacks on media workers covering stories the youth wing deemed unfavourable. In several instances, victims say they were attacked specifically for documenting economic hardship, corruption allegations, or the ongoing fallout from Congo’s struggling recovery from years of conflict in the east.
The group’s rise coincides with Tshisekedi’s consolidation of power following his re-election in 2023, a vote that opposition figures said was neither free nor fair. Since then, the president has moved to reshape the constitutional landscape around term limits — a manoeuvre that has prompted warnings from the African Union and Western diplomatic missions about the direction of Congo’s democratic transition.
The youth wing appears to serve multiple functions: a street-level enforcement mechanism for party interests, a source of patronage for young men recruited from Kinshasa’s vast informal settlements, and an instrument of political intimidation that operates with apparent impunity. Residents and human rights organisations say formal complaints against the group’s members routinely disappear without investigation.
As 2028 approaches, political analysts say the presence of an armed youth structure aligned to the ruling party represents one of the most significant threats to Congo’s stability. The country’s recent history — including the M23 rebellion’s escalation in the east, repeated Ebola outbreaks, and persistent insecurity in several provinces — provides a volatile backdrop against which any contested election outcome could prove explosive.
Congo’s electoral authority has yet to announce a formal timeline for the 2028 presidential vote, but preparations are expected to begin in earnest within the next 18 months. Whether the youth wing expands its role as that process unfolds, and whether the security forces intervene to check it, may determine whether Congo’s next election is peaceful or violent.
For now, Kinshasa’s streets remain under the watchful eye of men in UDPS colours who answer to no formal chain of command — and to no law but that of the party.
