On 12 May 2006, Mai Mai chief « Gédéon », whose real name is Kyungu Mutanga, surrendered to MONUC Blue Helmets stationed in Mitwaba, about 300 km north of Lubumbashi, in Katanga province.

This warlord, who was accompanied by a group of over 150 combatants, mostly child soldiers, decided to lay down his weapons.

«Gédéon» justified his gesture citing his desire to enter the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process and committed to assisting MONUC officials in helping to bring his supporters to follow suit.

In the nineties, the Mai Mai had been armed by Congolese authorities to help fight foreign forces that occupied the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Having entered into dissidence against the central government, the Mai Mai have since become a permanent factor of insecurity for the Congolese population, repeatedly clashing violently with the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC).

MONUC welcomes the Mai Mai's decision to enter the DDR process. This decision marks a notable advance in the peace process, with just a few weeks to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's first free, democratic and transparent elections in over forty years.