Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
30 April 2024 | 12:48 SAST
1-minute read

Technology giant Apple has been accused of using illegally exploited minerals extracted from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in its products.

The broader issue of mineral exploitation in the embattled DRC is due to a lack of influential leaders who fail to challenge this manipulation of resources, John Bwasa, an expert in African sociology, says in this week’s segment of the Africa Report on Radio Islam.

“Apple and many other companies—it’s not just Apple, we have Tesla, we have all these companies that are extracting gold in the eastern side of the Congo that are using blood minerals, and the blood minerals that are being used is the fact that it is exported from Rwanda rather than from where the minerals are being produced,” Bwasa notes.

Bwasa draws parallels to historical colonial oppression, stating that the current exploitation is no different to “what Leopold II and the Belgian coloniser did from 1885 to 1960.”

This form of neocolonialism contributes to the process of depopulating, dehumanising, and delocalising the Congolese, Bwasa notes, and calls for international efforts to promote peace, stability, and justice in the Congo.

Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) mission is closing its base in preparation for its departure from the Congo, following allegations of inefficiency.

“The UN was kind of doing a buffer, although they were also stealing, although they were also raping in the Congo,” Bwasa says about the UN mission’s role in the Congo.

Bwasa proposes that Congolese leaders unite to build a capable national defence force to replace the UN mission.

The landslide that killed at least 15 people in the Congo has been inadequately responded to, Bwasa says, due to the government’s inefficiency and ineptitude.

“When we know that this place is not a place that is viable for people to live, we don’t locate people there, but people are desperate, and we have loss of life and we have people that are still missing. That’s the inefficiency and ineptitude of people who call themselves leaders in a government,” Bwasa remarked.

He emphasised the need for proactive measures to protect civilians and ensure their safety.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat here.