DRC: How Illicit Mining Fuels Violence in Eastern DRC: Interview with Jean-Pierre Okenda

Feb 6, 2025 | Ashoka Mukpo, Mongabay
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To understand the dynamics of the eastern DRC’s mineral trade, the current crisis, and Rwanda’s role, Mongabay’s Ashoka Mukpo spoke with Jean-Pierre Okenda, director of the DRC-based NGO Sentinel Natural Resources. A 19 year-veteran of the extractive sector, Okenda previously worked with the DRC-focused NGO Resource Matters, as well as with U.S.-based organizations the Carter Center and the Natural Resource Governance Institute, as its DRC country director. He created Sentinel Natural Resources in 2018 and took its helm in July 2024, citing the need for an “additional nuanced Congolese voice” in the DRC’s resource policy making.