Colonel Gapanda, who commands one of the regiments of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) in Ituri Province, appeared at the headquarters of the Sector Commander in Bunia on the morning of Tuesday, November 18, 2025, after serious information—now under investigation—emerged.
This follows the death of a Captain who was leading a company when he fell into an ambush laid by CODECO militants. He and seven other soldiers were killed, with only one surviving.
According to security sources, the Captain had recently been transferred from another regiment where he had temporarily assisted in Col. Gapanda’s unit. On the day of the attack, he had been summoned by the military finance officers (S4) to collect salary funds for the soldiers under his command.
They explained:
“He had come to collect the soldiers’ payments after being called by the payroll officers. As soon as he received the money, he headed toward his former deployment area, but along the way he encountered the militants’ ambush and was killed.”
The sole survivor of the ambush stated that they had been summoned by the leadership of Col. Gapanda’s regiment. However, trusted information obtained by Minembwe Capital News indicates that when the Captain was called, Col. Gapanda himself was not aware of it and did not meet him.
Following this unexpected death—now raising suspicion of possible involvement by those responsible for managing soldiers’ finances some payroll officers in Col. Gapanda’s regiment were summoned to Bunia at the Sector headquarters to provide explanations. This also led to Col. Gapanda being called to appear before the Sector leadership on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
Rumors had begun circulating claiming that he had been summoned to Kinshasa, but security officials told Minembwe Capital News that this was not true. They clarified that he was only appearing before the Sector leadership in Bunia, as is normal procedure in military operations.
The investigation is ongoing as military authorities in Ituri Province work to uncover what lies behind the Captain’s death and how the soldiers’ funds were handled.
