SUMMARY
PERCI (a French acronym for “civilian personnel”) was a Batwa/Pygmee ethnic militia formed in 2007 in the former Katanga Province of the DR Congo (Zaire). Initially a reference to Twa trackers (pisteurs), the term evolved into a broader label for localized self-defense groups. PERCI emerged as a response to attacks on Twa villages by Kata Katanga and other armed actors. Over time, PERCI groups became more organized, particularly from 2013 onward, and participated in both defensive and retaliatory violence. Perci fought against Elements but they also revenge-attacked Baluba villages were they killed civilians.
PERCI’s primary motivation was the defense and survival of Twa communities, who had long been marginalized and subjected to violence by both state and non-state actors. Starting out as a self-defense militia PERCI eventually adopted a more militant ethnic identity rooted in protection of Twa autonomy and revenge for past atrocities.
PERCI was primarily active in southern Nyunzu Territory and northern Manono Territory in Tanganyika Province (formerly part of Katanga). The group operated in rural areas where state presence was weak and inter-communal tensions were high.
PERCI drew its fighters almost exclusively from Twa communities, including adolescents. By the late 2010s, several PERCI factions had mobilized hundreds of members.
PERCI was never a unified organization but rather a loose network of armed groups operating under the same name. While some units acted in coordination, most operated autonomously in their respective localities.
PERCI fighters were lightly armed, often relying on artisanal rifles, machetes, spears, and bows with poisoned arrows.
The founding figure of PERCI was Luhala, who was killed by the FARDC in 2013. After his death, leadership fragmented across multiple commanders. Among the most prominent were Nyumbaisha Mukalay, a Twa fighter born in 1975 who received FARDC training and led one of the largest factions; Sac Vide and Lebon, who controlled smaller units in Nyunzu and Manono territories; John Majimbo, who formed his own faction in Bayolo after breaking with his brother Moket Mwilambwe; Mukalay Yumba alias Kaomba, who founded a group in Kalumbi after fleeing anti-Twa violence in 2013; and Mpululu Katalushi, who established a faction in 2020 following the assassination of a local Twa chief.
While initially backed informally by elements of the FARDC during operations against Kata Katanga, PERCI relations with the national army later deteriorated. The group had no formal allies but inspired the emergence of other localized Twa self-defense forces. Internal fragmentation produced multiple splinter groups, each operating independently in its own zone of control.
