Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have expressed outrage at Commander Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka, who is wanted by the Congolese government for his involvement in the 2010 mass rape commited in the Walikale area of eastern Congo, standing to represent the very same district in Parliament.

Between July to August 2010, Sheka, the leader of the Congolese rebel group Mai-Mai Sheka, led his troops through  13 villages in Walikale, raping hundreds of villagers, including children and elderly women. Over 116 people were reportedly abducted.

In a press statement, Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch, said,

“Congolese authorities should be arresting Sheka for mass rape whether he is running for office or not,”

“The failure to arrest someone who is out publicly campaigning for votes sends a message that even the most egregious crimes will go unpunished.”

According to Congolese law, Commander Sheka would be immune from prosecution if elected. However, Hiroute Guebre Sellassie, the most senior United Nations official in North Kivu Province said, “does not mean that he is not going to face justice at one point."

Elections are due to take place later this month amidst widespread violence and voter intimidation.

Following the release of a damning report on election violence, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said on Wednesday,

“The kind of intimidation, threats, incitement, arbitrary arrests and violence that we have documented is unacceptable,”