Several women had reported being raped by security forces during the government crackdown on protests in January. Since then, no formal investigations have been undertaken; no formal independent complaints mechanism has been established; and the outrage has dissipated.
Colonel Magistrate Freddy Mukendi is an imposing man who speaks from behind darkly shaded eyeglasses. He takes up the full space of a lounge chair, giving off a breezy, if formal, comfort in his own skin. Considering his high-level position in the DRC, this may not be entirely unexpected.
When I was overwhelmed by a mob of men in Tahrir Square in Egypt last February, I was filled with the certainty that I would die there. In my mind I could see an image of my body lying discarded in the dirt.
It struck me that it would be a truly meaningless death.