This archive report was first published on 2 July 2019.
Published on July 2, 2019, a day after the incident, the national police in the Democratic Republic of Congo initially reported that a protester had died in hospital following a confrontation with police in the eastern city of Goma.
However, in a dramatic U-turn, the national police announced on Monday that the man was 'currently in emergency care' at a hospital, contradicting their earlier statement.
National police spokesman Pierrot Mwanamputu had initially told AFP that a person who was 'wounded by a gunshot died in hospital' after 'resistance' to police efforts to disperse the marchers in Goma.
Opposition youth officials alleged that police 'fired real bullets' in Goma, while a local police commissioner claimed some of the demonstrators were armed.
Meanwhile, in the capital Kinshasa, police used tear gas to break up another banned march, as the opposition Lamuka coalition called for protests to mark the 59th anniversary of the country's independence from Belgium.
President Felix Tshisekedi, who had promised 'no repression' in his first major interview since taking office, visited the volatile Ituri province, where local authorities say at least 160 civilians have died since June 10 in clashes between armed groups.
