The city of Beni, the provisional capital of North Kivu, has reached a historic milestone in security governance with the adoption of its Local Security Plan (LSP), designed to strengthen the protection of civilians and coordinate responses to threats. The plan was adopted on 23 January 2026 during a one-day workshop that brought together 40 local stakeholders, including the Mayor, the Mayors of the four municipalities, senior officials from specialized security services and the police, as well as representatives of civil society, women’s associations and youth movements. The workshop, which received technical support from the MONUSCO-Beni Civil Affairs Section, aimed to validate a three-year plan (2026–2029) intended to prevent and anticipate threats while actively involving the population.
A strategic tool for Beni exposed to insecurity
According to the Mayor, Jacob Nyofondo-Te-Kodale, “this plan takes into account the realities on the ground, defines concrete priorities and collaboration mechanisms to prevent insecurity, strengthen social cohesion and build a climate of trust with the population.”
The Local Security Plan will serve as a reference for the Local Development Plan (LDP) and identifies six priorities: the persistent activity of the ADF in peripheral neighborhoods, land disputes, poor road infrastructure, armed robberies and other urban crimes, inadequate public hygiene, as well as drug abuse and prostitution.
A Plan responding to the needs of the population
For Karim Mussa Muhisa, President of the Urban Youth of Beni, “this responds to a concrete need of the population. We had already developed several development plans; it was also necessary to have a local security plan for the city of Beni. The entire city must be aware of this plan, which was designed for us and by us. The problems identified reflect our reality, and the solutions proposed also come from us. We will take ownership of this plan and believe that it will provide positive responses to insecurity.”
Thanks to this Local Security Plan, the city of Beni now has a compass to guide its security actions over the next three years. The technical support provided by MONUSCO, within the framework of its mandate to protect civilians, enables both the authorities and the population to rely on a concrete and adapted tool to anticipate and respond to threats. This support also strengthens cooperation between local stakeholders and international partners, contributing to the stability and security of the population.
-Martial Mukeba wa Mukeba
