Nduma Defense of Congo

The Nduma Defense of Congo (NDC) (also known as Mai-Mai Sheka) is a militia that operates in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of the Kivu conflict.[1][2] Mai-Mai groups are militia unique to the eastern DRC, formed ostensibly to defend villages from attacks from Rwandan forces and Rwandan backed rebel groups. However, Mai-Mai groups have been accused of sexual violence, looting, and fighting all sides including fellow militias, the DRC army, and even the United Nations.[3]

The NDC was formed in 2009 by former minerals trader Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka, an ethnic Nyanga.[1] Sheka claims the group was formed to liberate the mines of Walikale Territory in North Kivu.[1]

According to the UN, Sheka commanded a mass rape of at least 387 women, men, and children over a three day span in Walikale in 2010.[1][4] This was said to be a punishment for the villagers collaborating with Congo government forces.[4] In 2011, Sheka was added to a United Nations Security Council sanctions list and a warrant was issued for his arrest in the DRC.[2] In 2017, Sheka surrendered to the DRC in North Kivu.[4] As of April 2019, his trial is still on-going.[5][6]

The UN Security Council has documented numerous cases of the NDC recruiting child soldiers. According to a 2014 report, at least 33 children separated from the group.[7] They said their roles included carrying ammunition and acting as talisman, as well as "combatants, cooks, marijuana farmers and tax collectors."[7] The children were held to the group through a mixture of threats to their family or the payment of $10–12 per month.[7]

A 2014 splinter saw the new group NCD-Renouveau created by former NDC deputy Guidon (or Guido).[7][8]