- Title: Congo conflict shutters Heineken brewery, cripples economy
- Date: 20th March 2025
- Summary: BUKAVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (MARCH 17, 2025) (REUTERS) BUILDINGS ON HILLSIDE OVERLOOKING LAKE WALL ADVERTISEMENT FOR 'PRIMUS' BEER MADE BY BRALIMA EXTERIOR OF 'ZENITH CALIFORNIA' BAR BEER BOTTLES ON TABLE MEN DRINKING AT TABLE EMPTY SEATS IN BAR (SOUNDBITE) (Swahili) CUSTOMER, GENTIL BYAMUNGU, SAYING: "No, the bottle is very expensive. We used to buy a bottle for
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Art africa bukavu conflict congo democratic drc eastern insurgencies military peace republic rwanda security war
- Location: BUKAVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
- City: BUKAVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
- Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Topics: Africa,Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001968718032025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In days of looting that preceded the arrival of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels into the east Congo city of Bukavu last month, civilians plundered large amounts of stock, raw materials and spare parts from a local Heineken (HEIN.AS) subsidiary.
A month later, the work of the Dutch firm's local operating company Bralima is still suspended and the Bukavu brewery remains shuttered -- highlighting the economic woes that have hit M23-controlled areas of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a rebellion rages.
The offensive, the latest in a series of Tutsi-led insurgencies that have emerged in east Congo, has brought more instability to an area already blighted by decades of militia violence and mass displacement.
Businesses and residents are reeling from the disruptions, shortages and widespread looting that accompanied the rebel advance and army retreat.
Bralima created around 1,000 direct and indirect jobs in Bukavu. Heineken said it was providing resources to its employees so that they could shelter at home.
Bralima is also a major source of funding for state-owned company REGIDESO, which supplies and distributes drinking water across Congo. In South Kivu, Bralima alone provides 40% of REGIDESO's revenue.
In the neighbourhood of Bagira, not far from the shuttered brewery, bar owner Amani Adolphe fished into his dwindling stock of Heinekens and Primus for a group of customers watching a football match.
Adolphe said that, unlike some of his peers, he refused to import stock from neighbouring Rwanda or Burundi.
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