This week, a military court in the town of Bunia, in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province, will hand down a verdict in the case against three members of the citizens’ movement Lutte pour le Changement (Struggle for Change, or Lucha). The activists were arrested on March 12, 2026, after organizing a peaceful demonstration calling for access to safe drinking water, an essential service that remains  severely limited in many parts of eastern Congo. The activists had informed local authorities of the planned protest three days earlier. Olivier Sefu Anjisina, Jackson Kambale Odo, and Joachim Kamate Paluku have been held in Bunia Central Prison on charges of “undermining state security,” a vague and overly broad offense frequently used to suppress dissent. Under  martial law orders , imposed in conflict-ridden North Kivu and Ituri since 2021, civilians suspected of crimes are prosecuted before military, not civilian, courts.…