National Gendarmerie of Congo
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1960 Ministry of attachment: Ministère de la Défense nationale Workforce: 3 700 General manager: Général de brigade Paul Victor Moigny Address: Camp de la Milice - Avenue de l’O.U.A. - BRAZZAVILLE - CONGO Tél.: + 242 04 409 7727 Logistic and Contracts service: Colonel OKOKAULT Tél.: + 242 06 610 9411 Communication Manager: Lieutenant-colonel MATSOUNGA Tél.: + 242 05 531 5270 
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History
Before the independence proclaimed on August 15th, 1960, a French Gendarmerie detachment settles down during the interwar period in the Congo colony integrated to the French Equatorial Africa (FEA). It is transformed in section by the decree n° 49-1366 of August 23rd, 1949, then into company with the June 7th, 1956 order n°1923/CM.D, and then in Squad of Gendarmes. The Congolese National Gendarmerie is created by the decree n° 61-43 of February 16th, 1961 according to the French model in which it remains very attached. In June 1966, it integrates the new popular army. Following lieutenant Pierre Kiganga’s failed attempt of putsch against President Marien Ngouabi in March 1970, the Congolese Gendarmerie is dissolved on April 3rd, 1970 because of the charges of complicity brought against some gendarmes. Its staff, its infrastructures and its equipment are then distributed between the police and the armies. The Congolese Gendarmerie is restored on June 18th, 1991 and its existence is registered in the article 161 of the Congo Republic constitution of March 15th, 1992 which specifies that: "The Forces of law and order consists of the National Police Force, the Gendarmerie and the Congolese armed forces". The article 164 indicates, as for it, that: "The National Gendarmerie is a force with military and civil character; its action is exercised on the whole territory of the Republic and to the armies".
Year 2001 is registered as the year of the reorganization with two texts concerning its employment and its functioning among which the order n° 5-2001 of February 5th, 2001. The constitution of January 20th, 2002 reproduces in its article 170 the terms of the article 161 of the 1992 Constitution. It maintains, besides, the two-tier security system established with the National Police and the National Gendarmerie forces. In 2012, the Gendarmerie is equipped with a Documentation and Judicial Researches Technical Department (DJRTD). In May 2014, the Congolese Parliament passes the law n° 21-2014 of orientation and programming of this Force of Law and Order which defines the development and modernization perspectives of this Law Enforcement official in order to accompany Congo towards the emergence defined on the horizon 2025. From 2015, the Congolese Gendarmerie has to see a 45% staff increase. Its slogan is: "Honour, Law and Homeland".
Organization
The Congolese National Gendarmerie depends on the Ministry of Defence and is situated at the same level as the Congolese Armed Forces (CAF).
Central Organization
The command of the Congolese National Gendarmerie, having a Central General Staff role, is located in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo. It includes:
• the general staff;
• the organization and employment Direction;
• the personnel and Training Direction;
• the Documentation and Judicial Intelligence Technical Direction;
• the Transmission Services Direction;
• the Material/equipment Direction;
• the Domain and work Direction;
• the Support and Finances Direction;
• the Gendarmerie General Inspection.
Territorial organization
• 7 regions.
• 19 companies.
• 79 territorial brigades.
In 2015, three new regions must be created with 18 companies, 51 territorial brigades, 26 Researches Brigades (BR) and 2 Road Safety Squadrons.
Specialized Training
• An Intervention Unit of the French G.I.G.N. type (in the process of being finalized).
• A mobile squad of Gendarmes composed of squadrons and intervention platoons.
• An Air Transport Squad of Gendarmes with 2 companies (Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire).
• A Rail Transportation Gendarmerie company (Pointe-Noire).
• A maritime squad of Gendarmes.
• 3 Road Safety Squadrons. Two others are in the process of being finalized.
• Brigades of Researches (Specialized in criminal investigations).
The Republican guard is an aside unit (Presidential Guard) that is not under the Gendarmerie Command authority.
Missions
The very diverse Congolese National Gendarmerie missions include the territory surveillance and defence, the national security, the maintenance of law and order and the execution of the Republic laws.
Staff
This Gendarmerie strength counts 3 870 staffs having a military status among which 15% of women. There are no conscripts of the contingent. The gendarmes are supposed to be accommodated by the State (CLNAS), but since its re-creation, a large part of housing was not retroceded yet.
For the officers, the recruitment is made through competitions with a common training at the military academy, then during the "application course" at the Gendarmerie officer’s school abroad (including in France). The non-commissioned officer’s recruitment conditions established in 2014 are:
• to be of Congolese nationality;
• to be 18-year-old at least and of 27 years at the most in the date of the competition;
• to be a holder of the high school diploma or an equivalent diploma;
• to fit medically and physically for service;
• to enjoy his/her civil and civic rights and to be of good morality;
• to have a size superior or equal to 1,70 m for the men and 1,65 m for the women;
• to be single and childless;
• to be ready to serve everywhere and in any circumstances on the extent of the national territory.
Training institutions
The National Gendarmerie School is implanted into the camp of Djoué, not far from the Bifouiti market, in Brazzaville. Besides the initial training, it insures the preparation of the 1st degree Gendarmerie Superior Qualification Diploma (GSQD) and the Criminal Police Officer Diploma (CPOD).
Main equipment
• Armament: Makarov or Tokarev automatic pistol, Kalashnikovs, Cougars, but also 14,5 mm "bitubes".
• Vehicles: Of around thirty "pick-up" type vehicles or 4X4 (Toyota BJ), of motorcycles, of some armoured vehicles "VBRG" (Gendarmerie Armoured vehicles with wheels) type (Cobra) and of troop transportation armoured trucks for maintenance of law and order missions. The Congolese gendarmerie also counts about ten troop transportation trucks (Dông Feng).
Cooperation
There is a gendarmerie technical cooperation agreement between France and Congo dating 1974, which was followed by several conventions of application of three years duration entitled "Institutional support to the gendarmerie".
The current convention for the execution of the project "Gendarmerie internal security support" was signed on June 7th, 2012 and covers the period 2012-2015.
This agreement aims at two essential objectives:
• 1. The advice: this is about favouring the exercise of the command by contributing:
- in the elaboration of the regulations related to the organization and to the employment of the institution, and by promoting its implementation and its follow-up,
- in the improvement of the directions performances, in particular in the "Human resources" sector,
- in the improvement of the Gendarmerie General Staff functioning material conditions and its chain of command.
• 2. The training: this is about giving back to the gendarmerie its autonomy in the satisfaction of its fundamental needs with regard to officers and non-commissioned officers’ initial and continuous training, by contributing towards:
- the professional, technical and ethical training of the officers and non-commissioned officers’ staff,
- the follow-up of the training school educational structures implementation, in the elaboration of the officers and non-commissioned officers training course educational contents.
© The iconography was provided by the concerned gendarmeries