Congolese Hip Hoppers arrested for criticising the government

The two rappers, who are conscious hip hoppers, have continually condemned the government's seeming inability to end the bloodshed and conflict in the DR Congo, a country troubled by ethnic and political strife.  

Idengo, 32, whose real name is Katembo Delphin, was handed a 10-year sentence for “insulting” the army and inciting people to arm themselves against the authority of the state

Muyisa Nzanzu Makasi, 33, was given two years for “contempt of the head of state”, this sentencing comes on the heels of his detention earlier this year. 

As if to confirm the correctness of the rappers’ songs, the harsh sentence was handed down by a military tribunal based in the main prison of Goma, capital of the eastern North Kivu province. 

Those in court, including relatives of the two men, gasped in disbelief as their defence lawyers immediately declared that they would appeal the verdict. 

When the trial opened in late November, Idengo said he stood by everything he said in his songs.

At home in the eastern city of Beni, “people have been killed every day since 2014 -- nothing has changed,” he said.

Makasi recalled that during President Felix Tshisekedi's election campaign, he had “promised to put an end to the massacres. But nothing has changed,” he said.

The situation appears to be deteriorating further in the Eastern part of DR Congo as over two hundred rebel groups and armed thugs roam the area and cause insecurity with impunity. 

Many of these armed militia are part of a harrowing legacy of misrule, civil conflict, plunder and regional wars that have ravaged the mineral-rich country. 

The role of musicians in any political cause cannot be underestimated, a rapper and activist better known by his stage name Smockey was one of the most visible faces of the uprising which overthrew Blaise Compaoré in 2014. 

In Uganda, musician Bobi Wine continues to be a thorn in the side of President Yoweri Museveni.