DR Congo's Police Say 18 People Injured In Protests Against Judiciary Reform

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2020) Eighteen people, including 15 policemen, were injured during recent protests against a judiciary reform bill in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the police said on Thursday.

"These demonstrations disturbed public order and resulted in considerable material damage. Several [pieces of] private property were vandalized by the protesters.

Forty people were detained, and two, caught red-handed, were arrested. Eighteen people were injured, 15 of them were policemen, and three were protesters," the police said in a statement published by the local 7sur7 news portal.

The controversial judicial reform, put forward by lawmakers Aubin Minaku and Garry Sakata, would place the country's�prosecutors under the authority of the government instead of the courts. Opponents claim that the legislation, if adopted, will be unconstitutional and undermine the judiciary.