SUMMARY
Nduma Defence of Congo (NDC), also known as NDC-Sheka, Mayi Mayi Sheka, Mayi Mayi Cheka, MC45 and later NDC-Mandaima, was a Nyanga-dominated Mayi Mayi armed group active mainly in Walikale territory in North Kivu Province of DR Congo (Zaire). The group was created by Ntabo Ntaberi, alias Sheka, a former mineral trader and warlord involved in the Walikale mining economy. Sheka had first launched the MC45 rebellion in 2007, which later developed into Nduma Defence of Congo. The group was based mainly in Walikale, especially around mineral-rich areas such as Bisie, but also operated or clashed in parts of Masisi and Lubero territories.
The group’s stated goals included demands for greater development and better working conditions for artisanal miners. In practice, however, NDC’s incompatibility was closely tied to control over mines, taxation, local authority and armed competition in Walikale. The group initially presented itself as defending local interests and fighting armed rivals, especially FDLR, but it also became deeply involved in mining networks, predatory taxation and violence against civilians.
NDC grew out of the militarized mining economy of Walikale. Sheka had worked with mining actors before creating the armed group, and his first attacks in 2009 targeted mines in Walikale. The group was linked to criminal networks within FARDC that had interests in the mineral trade. It mobilized deserters from FARDC units, former Mayi Mayi elements and local youths. NDC was initially small, but it benefited from alliances with FDLR elements and former CNDP/FARDC deserters, which gave it additional military capacity.
The group operated mainly in northern and central Walikale territory, including areas around Bisie, Pinga, Mubi, Kibua, Mpofi, Luvungi, Irameso, Montjolie, Ikobo and Kisimba. It also carried out attacks or became involved in fighting around the Walikale-Masisi border and in areas linking Walikale to Lubero. After Sheka’s surrender, remaining elements under Mandaima continued to be reported around Pinga and Mutongo, on the border between Walikale and Masisi. In later reporting, NDC-Mandaima was also associated with taxation and local authority in the Bapere sector.
NDC recruited mainly among the Nyanga population in Walikale, but it also included FARDC deserters and youths recruited or abducted locally. The group’s strength was relatively small compared with larger armed groups. Earlier estimates placed the group at around 150–180 men. UN reporting on its initial phase described Sheka as mobilizing deserters from the FARDC 85th brigade and the FARDC base at Biruwe. NDC also forcibly recruited children. Children were used as combatants, porters, cooks, tax collectors and carriers of ammunition and magic talismans.
The group’s structure was centred on Sheka. He was the overall commander and political-military figurehead. His command was supported by commanders such as Sadoke Kikunda Mayele and later Guidon Shimiray Mwissa, who served as Sheka’s second-in-command before breaking away. The group operated through small mobile units and relied on alliances with other armed actors for larger operations. It was never a large bureaucratic organization, but it developed enough command structure to plan joint operations, impose taxes and control local mining areas.
NDC’s military capacity depended heavily on alliances. From the outset, the group cooperated with FDLR elements, especially the FDLR Montana battalion, and with Emmanuel Nsengiyumva’s group of former CNDP elements. These forces jointly planned and carried out operations, with each commander retaining control over his own combatants. NDC also had indirect cooperation with some FARDC officers linked to mineral interests.
NDC’s alliances shifted repeatedly. It initially cooperated mainly with FDLR and former CNDP elements. After the killing of FDLR Montana battalion commander Evariste Karenguhera in November 2011, NDC’s relationship with FDLR deteriorated, and the group later became closer to M23 and Bosco Ntaganda-linked networks. NDC also became allied with Raia Mutomboki from Walikale, with whom it shared the stated objective of fighting FDLR. Sheka also cooperated opportunistically with FARDC elements when they shared mining interests. The group was also reported to have received support from Rwanda, but its local survival depended more directly on the Walikale mining economy and changing alliances with armed and military actors.
In 2014, Guidon Shimiray Mwissa broke away from Sheka’s NDC and created Nduma Defence of Congo-Rénové (NDC-R). Guidon had been Sheka’s second-in-command and took a large share of the group’s combatants with him. The split was linked to disagreements with Sheka, accusations of poor leadership and disputes over resources. After this split, Sheka’s faction lost much of its influence and military power. NDC-R expanded from former NDC strongholds, while Sheka’s NDC gradually lost territory and capacity.
Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka surrendered to MONUSCO on 26 July 2017 and was handed over to Congolese authorities. He was later tried by the Congolese military justice system, and in November 2020 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes, including murder, rape, sexual slavery, recruitment of children and looting, as well as for creating and participating in an insurrectional movement. After Sheka’s surrender, Mandaima assumed leadership of the remaining NDC elements.
