October 6th, 2022 - We do not forget Kupa Ilunga Medard Mutombo - Against deadly police and state violence

There will be no rally this year on the anniversary of Kupa Ilunga Medard Mutombo's death, but we would like to invite everyone to place a flower at the memorial for the victims of racism and police at Oranienplatz. We also invite everyone to talk about Kupa Ilunga Medard Mutombo and the circumstances of his death and to take action against police violence in everyday life and during actions and not simply accept it. It may only affect some, but it concerns us all.

Over four years ago, on September 14, 2022, Kupa Ilunga Medard Mutombo was in an assisted living home in Spandau for mentally and mentally ill people. He should be transferred to a hospital. At least 14 police officers were deployed for the transfer. When Medard opened his door and saw the officers, he panicked. But instead of dealing with the situation with understanding and calm, they invaded his room. They used brutal force against the 64-year-old, including putting a knee on his neck. They injured him so badly that he fell into a coma and died in the hospital three weeks later on October 6, 2022.

His brother Mutombo Mansamba made the fatal police operation public with the help of the ReachOut advice center. This was followed by rallies, public relations work and an attempt to clarify the matter in court. But to date there have been no consequences for those responsible.

The judiciary was and is not willing to take action against the violence of the police, prisons or other institutions. The blocking of any information, the already grotesque explanations, the popular narrative of “suicide”, the perpetrator-victim reversals and the constant portrayal of all violence as self-defense or unavoidable are constantly repeating reflexive patterns of the German state and its representatives.

Every year people die in police operations, in prisons or in custody situations. Most of them don't even have their names known because they don't have relatives, friends and/or other supporters who would publish the circumstances of their deaths or even have the resources to take action against it. Not even small “reforms” such as functioning fire protection in prisons or the decriminalization of poverty crimes such as driving without a ticket are being implemented; Disarming the police or decriminalizing migration is out of the question. Because state violence in all its forms is not a mistake, but part of the system in which we live. Radical answers are needed to prevent this violence and further deaths “in the care of the state”.

We have not forgotten Kupa Ilunga Medard Mutombo and the circumstances of his death.
We don't forget Lorenz A., who was shot on the street by the police on April 25, 2025.
We do not forget Marcel B., who died on April 27, 2022 from injuries sustained in a police operation to evict homeless people.
We do not forget Ferhat Mayouf, who suffocated from a fire in his cell on July 23, 2020 while the security guards did not open the door.
We don't forget Maria B., who was shot by the police in her apartment on January 24th, 2020.
We do not forget Hussam Fadl, who was shot from behind by the police on October 27, 2016.

Let us fight on behalf of all the people who can no longer be with us today. Let us make it clear to those responsible that we have not forgotten or forgiven, and that we cannot, do not want and will not simply accept this violence.

For a better and safer future for everyone. 

Pictures: web address: http://www...License of article and all embedded media:  Creative Commons by-nc-sa: Share Alike - Non-Commercial