Congolese LUCHA launch Fatshimétrie campaign for government accountability,
Summary
From 2019 the DRC citizen movement LUCHA published an annual accountability barometer, Fatshimétrie, that rates the gap between President Tshisekedi’s public promises and actual governance, using verifiable data to stimulate public debate and constrain executive discretion. [source: icnc-lucha]
Tactics used
Tactics used
Background
The citizen movement Lutte pour le Changement (Struggle for Change, or LUCHA) was founded in 2012 in Goma, North Kivu, by young Congolese frustrated by insecurity, extreme poverty, weak access to schools, water, healthcare and electricity, and a political class that ran on promises routinely unfulfilled [source: icnc-lucha] . After a decade of growth LUCHA had spread to roughly fifty towns across the country, led the nonviolent struggle that forced Joseph Kabila to leave power in violation of the constitution, and turned to holding the new President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi accountable to the promises he made during the 2018 election campaign [source: icnc-lucha] . [source: icnc-lucha]
What happened
On 31 January 2019, one week after Tshisekedi took office, LUCHA launched the Fatshimétrie campaign, an annual accountability barometer whose name blends Fatshi (from F elix A ntoine Tshi sekedi) with métrie (measurement), inspired in concept by Mali’s Mali-Mètre [source: icnc-lucha] . The campaign periodically publishes thematic reports on governance, grounded in verifiable data, that score the gap between the president’s stated promises (jobs, security, justice, anti-corruption) and the actual policies and budget outcomes of his administration, thereby filling the information vacuum that politicians exploited to deceive and divide the public [source: icnc-lucha] . The Fatshimétrie idea was proposed by LUCHA member Bienvenu Matumo, a graduate of the DRC National School of Administration and a doctoral researcher at Paris 8, and the concept emerged in a context in which the national electoral commission had declared Tshisekedi the winner of the December 2018 presidential election even as independent observers and leaked commission servers indicated otherwise [source: icnc-lucha] . [source: icnc-lucha]
Key people & organizations
- LUCHA (Lutte pour le Changement / Struggle for Change)
- Bienvenu Matumo
- Umbrella member organisations of LUCHA active in 50 towns
- Felix Antoine Tshisekedi
- Independent national electoral commission (CENI)
Outcome
Verdict: open.
As of the source’s publication the Fatshimétrie campaign had produced annual accountability reports, but measurable outcomes — whether the president’s policy choices shifted or public trust in the barometer translated into political pressure — were still being assessed. The source describes the campaign as ongoing rather than closed, hence the verdict is “open”. [source: icnc-lucha]
Lessons
- Periodic data-driven ‘score cards’ are a low-risk tactic for civic movements to hold elected officials accountable over the long term. [source: icnc-lucha]
- Naming a single campaign after a head of state (Fatshimétrie) personalises accountability and keeps the campaign in public conversation. [source: icnc-lucha]
- Verifiable methodology gives the campaign a reputation for fairness that helps it survive fierce political pushback. [source: icnc-lucha]
Sources
- Congolese LUCHA launch Fatshimétrie campaign for government accountability, 2019 — icnc-lucha —
icnc(Broken Promises: The LUCHA Fatshimétrie)`
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
icnc-lucha— grounding: primary — license: cc-attribution- Verified 2026-07-04 against
RAW/congolese-lucha-launch-fatshimetrie-campaign-for-government-accountability-2019.md.