Freddy Mukuza’s last moment was witnessed by a friend, standing at 50m (160ft) helplessness.
When he heard that Freddy was shot – he was told the M23 rebels – he and others rushed to the scene of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“When we arrived we found Freddy was still breathing and wanted to take him away, but the M23 didn’t allow us,” we called Justin’s friend and said.
“When we held on, they fired the bullets onto the ground, as if saying, ‘If you dare to cross this perimeter, we will kill you too.'”
So they had to keep their distance as Freddy, 31, took her last breath. Only then will M23 allow them to approach and take away his body.
Shortly before the murder, three trucks filled with rebel soldiers arrived at Kasika near Freddy.
About 15:00 on Saturday, February 22 – Rebel groups quickly occupied Goma in the eastern part of the country for nearly a month.
According to our sources, 17 to 22 people were killed in an hour or so, mainly young people.
We have collected detailed accounts of unidentified residents to protect our own protection.
We asked M23 to respond to allegations of mass killings nearby. They did not reply.
Kasika officials have not released the death losses, with little or no independent criminal investigations investigating what residents call the Holocaust.
But locals insist that the M23 is the only armed group that can operate freely and kills the shooting in the spacious daylight of Goma.
The rebels have been in full control since they rode the city in late January. We spent our 18 days on the ground with absolute authority.
They have been accused of atrocities in other areas in the past.
Armed insurgents do not act alone. According to the United Nations and the United States, they have been supported by neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda denies this, although it no longer denies that it has its own troops in the Congo Doctorate, saying they are self-defense.
It is believed that the target of M23 is Kasika due to the Congolese Army Base in the region.
The Katindo Camp is now closed, but some soldiers and their families remain in the area.
“Not all soldiers were able to escape,” one local resident explained. “Some people threw away their guns and stayed nearby.”
But Freddy Mukuza is a civilian – a married father who struggles hard. When the tough times come, he makes a living by riding a passenger on a motorcycle.
He is also an activist and songwriter, and he masters many of the problems in his hometown – a mineral-rich country whose people are the poorest in the world.
The Congo doctor is known as a place of corruption and instability – and conflict, which dates back 30 years. That is that country and its suffering.
Sexual violence is local. The government is weak at best.
There are a lot of Freddy to rap.
One of his songs is called Au Secours (French Help), and the lyrics are filled with unanswered questions:
“Who will help these people? Who will help these raped women? Who will help these unemployed men? … People are in danger and they don’t have enough food. [the authorities] Buy a jeep. ”
On the day of his death, Freddy moved to a new rental house in Kasika. His brother-in-law is helping him put a tarp on the roof.
His sister son was there, too, ready for Freddy’s family. When they heard of the shooting, they were inside, eager to close the door, but M23 saw them.
According to his friend Justin, the rebels shot and killed two of Freddy’s in-laws.
Since then, Justin has barely left home and even made money. His family survives on vegetables and fruits. Tea is now a luxury they can’t afford.
He stopped his children from school because he was worried that they might be taken away by M23 and be forced to recruit.
“We think their lives are more important,” he said.
His world shrank to his own four walls. People have been worried that the rebels would return to the young people’s pursuit.
He said the sight of a pickup truck on the street was only causing locals to run.
He told us that it is rare to see a group of young people chatting these days.
“In the past, there was bad governance, but we had freedom,” he said. “Appropriate companies. Poor management, we speak up about it. We have the opportunity to go to court. Today, there is bad governance, but we live in horror and silence.”
Justin talked to us because he wanted Freddy Mukuza to be remembered and he wanted the outside world to understand life and death under M23.
Kasika has been shrouded in fear since her suicide. Local journalists have not reported the story yet.
But the next day, February 23, a shaky video was posted on social media, which seemed to show some of the victims: 10 bodies visible – thrown in a tangled pile in an unfinished building. It is not clear whether any of the dead were soldiers.
None of them were wearing uniforms and showed no signs of weapons.
In the background, there are screams and shouts. A woman repeated over and over again: “There are 10” because she moved from body to body.
“They will finish all of us,” she said. “They killed all these young people. Isn’t that junior? I think it’s him. He’s a house builder.”
Without videos, news about the killings may not spread nearby.
But even by the violence standards of Congolese doctors, these shots have the ability to shock.
Our sources say this is true. A person confirms the location shown in kasika.
After the body moved, he visited the place. He recognized that one of the people he saw from nearby videos was crying.
Our two sources say the youngest death in Kasica is a boy between 13 and 14 years old. The boy was at his home, hiding behind his sisters.
“M23 said: ‘If this boy doesn’t come with us, we’ll kill you all,’ one told us.
The boy was then taken away and died from him.
There is also a young woman among the victims. She has been selling milk on the overcrowded streets.
Also killed – another street vendor in his twenties.
He sat in his usual position when the shooting began – on the sidewalk outside his front door, selling phones and homemade donuts for call time.
He heard the rebels’ begging: “I’m not a soldier.”
“I just sell call time. Look, these are my stuff – my call time and my donuts.”
Then he ran away. A friend of his told the story. We call him John.
“I was in the house and I heard gunshots.” “People said, ‘They were taking young people away by force.’ I saw people running, including my friends, so I ran with them.
“When we got to the main road, there was a shooting and I heard the gunshot behind me and someone fell.”
That’s the donut seller.
Despite his age, his last year was still in middle school. He was a keen student, because his family could not afford to educate him, and he started very late.
But John said, “Like all young people, he has a dream.” In his case, it was an engineer.
John said the rebels didn’t care about the people they were killed.
“No questioning before the filming,” he told us. “They just fired at everyone present and shot in two different directions.”
When M23 captured Goma, they declared there was no prison. John said no further explanation is needed: “This means that anyone who is considered a government soldier, or a thief, or who makes a mistake will be killed immediately.”
Few people dared to speak out a lot after a few weeks. “No one wants to be next,” John said.
The family who lost a loved one held a small hasty burial – no mourning at home usually.
“The rebels don’t want any funerals,” said one resident. “They don’t even want people to cry. We think they want to bring peace, but they come to destroy us. They took everyone they found in the street.”
She tries to walk outside when the man is rounded. The rebels ordered her to go back at the gun.
Some Goma residents say they live in “horror and silence” after M23 was captured [Göktay Koraltan / BBC]
Denis Baeni was on his way home when the rebels arrived in Kasica. Our source said he rushed into a small store and hid with some other stores.
The primary school teacher took out his ID card from his pocket. He might have thought he was a civilian, and that would save him.
Neighbors (with event knowledge) tell us what happened. We call her Rebecca.
Rebecca said: “They heard the voice outside and asked, ‘Are there any soldiers?'” Rebecca said. “They said no, but M23 took them out of the store.”
The men were told to walk a short distance to a half-built house where they were “assembled for execution.”
“There’s too much gunfire,” she said. “It’s so close. There are 21 people close to us. Many have just passed.”
Rebecca insists that they are all civilians. “Not a soldier,” she said.
Dennis left two children, and he raised them alone.
Death is not the only danger here. Locals are also at risk of being recruited to fight – willing or otherwise.
“Now, men have to go home by 17:30,” Rebecca said. “By 18:00, it’s dark and they can take you very easily.”
Corneille Nangaa tells BBC he knows nothing about the past of M23 [AFP]
M23 is continuing through the Eastern Congo Doctor as Kasika’s family is forced to stifle grief.
After Goma, they took control of the city of Bukaf in mid-February. They threatened to reach the capital, Kinshasa, 1,600 km (nearly 1,000 miles) from the hotel.
They claim they are revolutionaries fighting the failed state and defending the rights of Patsy.
Human rights groups paint very different pictures.
Since the Foundation in 2012, they have accused armed groups of abuse—including systemic shelling of civilian areas, gang rape and “summary executions.” The allegations have been recorded in a series of reports.
In a recent BBC interview, I asked about the response of rebel leader Corneille Nangaa. He led a political party and militia alliance – known as the Congo River Alliance – which included the M23.
“I didn’t see the report,” he said. “I can’t respond to reports I haven’t read.” He also said he was not worried about the allegations.
He pushed why he didn’t read the report, and he said, “Give me one and I’ll read it.”
Nangaa, former head of the Congo doctoral election committee, alternates between combat fatigue and smart suits.
He was called the unarmed and threatening face of the rebels, but the Congolese government provided a $5 million (£4 million) reward for the information that led to the arrest.
The rebels don’t have a cruel history alone. This also applies to the Congolese army, as well as many other armed groups in the eastern part of the Congolese Doctor.
But the M23 is now the only authority in parts of the East, with millions of Congolese being mercied.
As we talked to a resident of Kasika, his wife called him and asked him to come quickly to bring their eight-year-old son out of school.
The panic spread due to reports on M23.
He took the kid home safely, but was worried about the future.
“We’re all traumatized. They said they came to liberate us.” “But now it’s like they took us hostage.”
Other reports from BBC Wietske Burema.
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