Kinshasa - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there personal security concerns to be aware of at this post? Please describe.
There are personal security concerns, but the bigger problem are security restrictions that keep people from getting very far out of Kinshasa. Or sometimes restricted within Kinshasa. This varies from one employer to another, but if you would be working for one of the risk-averse employers, such as the US Embassy, do yourself a favor and find a job somewhere else. Do you want to spend two years in a country and never see 99 percent of it? - Sep 2024
You should be aware of personal security at all times here! Currently no travel outside the city is allowed, and only certain parts within the city is okay. There is a war in the eastern part of the country so no trips to the picturesque parks. Kidnapping for ransom is big, vehicle accidents, muggings, snatch and grabs, vehicle vandalism, being slapped on the face by a local while walking, civil unrest, etc. This is not a place for sightseeing. - May 2024
Mission personnel is not allowed to travel to the Eastern part of the country, unless the RSO authorizes the trip. There is no major crime in the areas where the Embassy has its housing, however, certain parts of Kinshasa can be dangerous. Muggings are common. Violent car accidents happen from time to time due to drivers recklessness. Civil unrest happens from time to time too. RSO is normally pretty good letting folks know ahead of time which areas to avoid. - Aug 2022
The majority of your time in Kinshasa will be in the diplomatic neighborhood. It's where work, restaurants, and most activities are. Things feel safe there and security incidents are few and far between. There are beggars on the street (typically children) and they can sometimes be insistent asking for money. I don't find them dangerous at all. It's mostly heartbreaking. But their presence is strong and will definitely impact your behavior. You'll need to keep your car doors locked and windows rolled up. The first few times they come up to your car, it might be alarming. But you adjust to it and it somehow becomes just another fixture of Kinshasa roads -- a pothole here, a crazy taxi there, and a beggar child approaching your window. You learn to ignore it, or give a gentle smile and move on. - May 2022
Don't walk alone, jog where others jog, be really strict with the kids you run into on the street. You have to stay alert, particularly if you're shopping downtown or in the markets. - Aug 2019
DRC is rated "critical" for crime, though I personally think this overstates things in Kinshasa. Expats mostly experience petty crime like purse snatching and pickpocketing. The crime is generally not violent, and I never seriously feared for my physical safety in Kinshasa. The Embassy was closed for six days in 2018 due to a terrorism threat, but this isn't yet a major concern for day-to-day life in my opinion. During my time it was also very common to suffer some moderate harassment from local security forces, who are poorly and inconsistently paid and therefore resort to demanding bribes and petty extortion to make a living. This isn't as bad as it used to be, but it is still a problem. Diplomatic license plates seem to help a lot with avoiding this. - Apr 2019
Yes. Kinshasa is a high-threat post with many restrictions (windows up and doors locked at all times, walking restrictions, lots of barbed wire and guards at every house/compound, armed Congolese army personnel manning security checkpoints after dark, etc. Car accidents can get a little intense so there is protocol to follow there. There are days of political unrest/protests where shelter in place is required. There is likely to be continued unrest/instability in the coming months/years so better to be OK with following security regs. - Dec 2017
Yes, local transportation and walking are not encouraged. - Dec 2017
Yes. Doors and windows on your vehicle must remain closed and locked at all times. People will try to open your doors (yes, even while driving) to steal what they can grab. If your car automatically unlocks all doors upon placing it in Park, I strongly recommend you have this feature disabled prior to shipping your vehicle to post or learn how to do it on YouTube. - Mar 2017
Petty theft is common and it is not safe to walk outside except in one or two areas. You will get used to living in your car and parking right in front of the place you want to go. Harassment by beggars and street children is common and can turn dangerous if you are alone and accosted by a large group. However, it is safe to go to nearly all restaurants, supermarkets, sporting events, etc.--you just have to drive there. - Jan 2017
Though petty crime exists, I never worried about car jacking, home break ins, or your run-of-the mill urban opportunistic crimes. Street kids were pretty rampant -- one snatched my chain -- but rarely violent. The worry in Kin was always that the tenuous political situation would boil over and create unrest. While I was there we had two fuzzy 'coup' attempts. Never really fully explained, and just bizarre. Guys armed with spears trying to attack the Presidency; an errant pastor preaching secession. At least those were the formal explanations. One never knew. Elections are always dangerous. - Sep 2016
This is considered a high threat post and there is a lot of poverty here, so we do not drive with our doors unlocked or our windows down - ever - to avoid the theft of purses, phones etc... That said, it is most petty theft that is worrying here. We have 24h guards in front of our home/compound, and the security officers at post keep the community apprised of what is going on in the city. This year (2016) is supposed to be a presidential election year here and people are on higher alert because of the political tensions, but we have never seen any focus on Americans and we have never worried about any kind of attack on Americans (or most expats) - if the security situation escalated here it would be because of internal issues that might tangentially affect the expat community, not because the expat community was targeted. - Apr 2016
Kinshasa is a high-crime urban city with high populations of street kids and urban gangs looking for easy crimes of opportunity. Unlocked car doors will be opened (while driving) and bags or anything else reachable grabbed. Very few areas of the city are safe to walk at night although some of the more frequented expat areas are relatively safe if with a group and it's not too late. Beggars are common but not aggressive. - Jan 2014
Embassy houses are very safe, with 24-hour guard. About town, you need to keep your car doors locked at all times and your wits about you. The biggest issue is theft and harassment from street kids while you're stuck in traffic. People generally limit how much they walk on the street and drive everywhere. Runners generally stick to the river loop, which is very safe, or run in pairs, although there is a hash that goes all over. I'd say it's getting slightly safer. - Nov 2012
Yes, crime is very bad. - May 2012
YES. Election time can bring extreme instability. There are "shegue" or street kids that can cause issues (ie. attempting to get into your car, stealing from your car, laying down in front of your car). When at the markets, you have to be cautious about closing your doors and locking them. - Feb 2012
Yes shaygays (gangs of kids) cause numerous problems. - Nov 2011
Not in the day to day life. It's actually pretty safe. Having said that the DRC remains a fragile state with lots of poverty, inequality and discontent, which can be explosive. With the forthcoming elections there is a chance that things will detonate, but I would still tend to think that stability will prevail - Aug 2011
Quite a bit! You are on constant watch for pick-pockets, thieves, break-ins, smash and grab from vehicle. You lock all your doors in residence, (what break-ins we have heard about, have been ‘inside’ jobs, maid has given a key to a contract guard or guard used issued key to enter, help will pocket stuff), you pay attention to RSO briefing and their safety/security suggestions, you carry the radio and cell phone with you all the time, you let people know where you are going and then go in a crowd. Very important, you should know where you are all the time and how to tell someone to get to where you are. There are few street signs or markers. There are areas in Kinshasa where you just don’t belong and are inviting trouble by being there. There is growing gang problem, older kids/young adults who prey on the locals more so than the ex-pats. But, there has been at least one kidnapping and robbery of a Mission employee. The best available street map has several errors. When driving-doors locked, windows up, and you are aware of your surroundings. All residences are behind security walls, barbed wire, 24/7 on site security guards(contract), alarm buttons, entry alarm systems, and safe rooms. We rarely go out at night and when we do, it is to someplace we are very familiar with and usually with a group. Women driving alone will draw the attention of very aggressive street beggars or vendors, more so than a man does. Women out and about will draw attention. - Jan 2011
Various scams are aimed at parting you from your money, but I worry far more about crime when I'm in the states than I do here. The shegue (street kids) can be an annoyance and can engage in petty theft, but by and large the threat they pose is easily managed. - Oct 2010
We have 24-hour guards, so I haven't heard of any break-ins. The "sheguys" (teenage & young adult males) sometimes swarm cars, to try to intimidate the occupants into giving them money. - Jan 2009
