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Man accused of promoting hate claims he's victim of police persecution | CBC
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MAN ACCUSED OF PROMOTING HATE CLAIMS HE'S VICTIM OF POLICE PERSECUTION
A B.C. man charged with promoting hatred against a Congolese ethnic group claims
he is the victim of police persecution. But RCMP say it's their job to prevent
Canada from being used as a safe haven for people to launch attacks on
minorities.
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RCMP SAY ARREST IS PART OF WAR CRIMES UNIT'S ROLE PREVENTING CANADA FROM BEING
USED AS SAFE HAVEN FOR HATE
Jason Proctor · CBC News · Posted: May 22, 2021 7:00 AM PDT | Last Updated: May
22, 2021
Kibwe Ngoie-Ntombe is charged with the wilful promotion of hate in relation to
videos he posted online about a Congolese ethnic group. He claims he is
innocent. (YouTube)
A B.C. man charged with promoting hate against a Congolese ethnic group after an
investigation by Canada's war crimes program claims he is the victim of police
persecution.
RCMP announced the rare charge against Kibwe Ngoie-Ntombe this week, nearly a
year after they first arrested him and searched his Kelowna home in relation to
a series of online videos attacking people he identified as Kasaian in the
mining-rich province of Katanga.
Reached at his home Friday, the 52-year-old — who is originally from the
Democratic Republic of Congo — claims he was exercising his right to free speech
on an issue that has nothing to do with Canada.
"My wife, she's Canadian, we have six children who are born here. The police,
they came to my place, they took everything from us in the middle of the
pandemic. They took even our six children's passports, they took the birth
certificates. Canada abused me," Ngoie-Ntombe said.
"There's not freedom of speech in Canada. You cannot say what you want to say."
CANADA NOT A LAUNCHING PAD FOR HATE
In February, Ngoie-Ntombe was charged with uttering threats, having a forged
U.S. social security document and counselling people to commit aggravated
assault and arson.
The wilful promotion of hate charge required a sign-off from B.C. Attorney
General David Eby.
Ngoie-Ntombe makes his next appearance in Kelowna provincial court on Tuesday.
Many of Kibwe Ngoie-Ntombe's videos remain online. The Kelowna man is accused of
the wilful promotion of hate against a Congolese ethnic group. (YouTube)
His claim to free speech places him at odds with police, who say one of the
central functions of the war crimes program is to ensure Canada can't be used as
a safe haven for people to launch hateful tirades that might inspire
attacks against marginalized people in other parts of the globe.
The program includes the Department of Justice, the RCMP, the Canada Border
Services Agency, as well as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
National Division RCMP Insp. Francois Courtemanche says the investigation
into Ngoie-Ntombe began with a complaint to the Department of Justice, which
determined that a criminal investigation was warranted.
* Analysis
The difficult history of prosecuting hate in Canada
Courtemanche wouldn't speak to the specifics of the case because of a
bail-hearing publication ban.
"We're looking to ensure that Canada is not used as a launching point to
distribute these messages of hate and to promote violence against marginalized
ethnic groups, whether they be here in Canada or in other locations around the
world," he said.
"We want to prevent individuals from being able to sit in their home, or in
their basement, or even in the public library using the internet, and spreading
messages of hate or using Canada or Canadian funds to be able to fund
organizations that are attacking marginalized people."
A HISTORY ROOTED IN COLONIALISM
The terms of Ngoie-Ntombe's bail conditions limit his use of the internet and
limit him to a cellphone that can only receive and make calls. He's allowed to
use one laptop, but can't delete his browser history.
Ngoie-Ntombe is also forbidden from communicating with any members of the
Katanga Independence Movement through social media, instant messaging services
or chat rooms.
United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2013. Ethnic
tensions in the country date back to colonial rule by Belgium. ((Jerome
Delay/Associated Press))
Simon Fraser University assistant professor Jason Stearns, who heads New York
University's Congo Research Group, says the people Ngoie-Ntombe is accused of
targeting are more accurately known as the Luba.
He says the Luba became prominent in the Belgian colonial administration. Many
migrated to the mining hub in the southern part of Congo, which was known as the
Katanga region.
Stearns said tensions between the Luba and other communities boiled over in the
years following the Democratic Republic of Congo's independence in 1960, coming
to a head in the 1990s with conflicts that resulted in serious human rights
abuses.
"This expressed itself as a conflict between people who considered themselves to
be indigenous to the mining-rich Katanga region and the Luba people — who they
say were outsiders, even though the Luba had in some cases been there for
several or many generations," Stearns says.
Stearns says the types of videos Ngoie-Ntombe is accused of making circulate in
the area from time to time, particularly during elections, when candidates stir
up ethnic tensions to gain votes.
ACCUSED CLAIMS HE ACTED IN 'SELF-DEFENCE'
Many of Ngoie-Ntombe's videos remain on YouTube and Facebook, where he
called himself Kibwe Katanga President.
He uses degrading terms in the videos to describe "Kasaians" and also calls for
them "to go back home."
* Belgian king regretful for 'violence and cruelty' during colonial rule over
Democratic Republic of Congo
In an interview, Ngoie-Ntombe cast his actions as "self-defence" and said he was
acting to prevent genocide.
A singer and entrepreneur, Ngoie-Ntombe says he has lived in Canada for 15 years
and is married to a Canadian citizen, but has been denied residency several
times.
He says he was granted asylum in Australia in the years before he came to Canada
and would like to return to that country with his family now.
* Handcuffing of retired Black judge mirrors brother's false imprisonment 46
years ago
Ngoie-Ntombe claims there is no proof his videos have resulted in anyone being
harmed.
Courtemanche said the RCMP's domestic investigators worked with liaison officers
in the U.S., South Africa and Kenya, as well as with the Australian Federal
Police.
None of the charges have been proven in court.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black
racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in
Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories
here.
(CBC)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason Proctor
@proctor_jason
Jason Proctor is a reporter in British Columbia for CBC News and has covered the
B.C. courts and the justice system extensively.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News
Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|Report error
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