Edizon Musavuli, a 31-year-old visual artist from Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has published his first comic, 'Baraka and the Unpredictable Life of Goma', in the pan-African newspaper the Continent. The story follows a young boy navigating the daily struggles and constant insecurity of life in the rebel-occupied city.
Musavuli, who has been drawing since childhood, began pursuing art seriously after high school, studying at the Africa Digital Media Institute in Nairobi until financial difficulties forced him to stop. His first solo exhibition in January 2020, organised with the French Institute of Goma, was well received, but the resurgence of the M23 militia in 2021 upended the city's fragile art scene.
'Artists in Goma are really reliant on French exhibitions,' Musavuli says. 'If they're not around, it will feel like we don't exist.' When M23 captured Goma in January 2025, creative spaces faltered alongside the economy. 'Art gives hope, but our situation here doesn't change, so people are not really interested any more,' he adds.
Musavuli shares his work on Instagram, where one reel showing him painting against a backdrop of gunshots has garnered over 10,000 views. His comic, while politically charged, is not intended as explicit commentary. 'I'm not really a political artist or activist, but I say what people around me are thinking,' he explains.
Producing art critical of M23 or the government can be dangerous. 'In Kinshasa it's normal to talk about everything that's wrong with the rebels, but in Goma it's not safe for you,' Musavuli says. He also faces financial challenges, noting that 'people don't buy art' in Congo, so he works as a cartoonist for a blog site called Habari RDC to survive.
Despite the risks and uncertainties, Musavuli remains committed to giving voice to Goma's disenfranchised. 'We are a resilient population – this is not the first time we have been through this,' he says.
