Dig, Baby, Dig! Part 3: The DRC with Alaka Lugonzo and Jean Pierre Okenda

Corruption, pollution and child labour have long blighted the Democratic Republic of the Congo's cobalt industry. But is there any way of turning the country’s critical mineral wealth into a blessing rather than a burden?


In the final episode of our mini series, Dig, Baby, Dig! we spoke to Alaka Lugonzo a senior civil society adviser at Global Witness and Jean Pierre Okenda, the executive director of Sentinel Natural Resources.


Host: Maxine Betteridge-Moes


Guests: Alaka Lugonzo and Jean Pierre Okenda


Credits: Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Producer, Digital Editor), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Isabella Poderico (Editorial Intern) Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)


Read NI555: Dig, Baby, Dig! Can Critical Minerals Save the World? (https://newint.org/issues/2025/04/16/...)


Further reading from this episode:


Congo's cobalt curse (Cat Rainsford, New Internationalist - subscribe to read)


Can mining save the world? (https://newint.org/mining/2025/can-mi...) (Vanessa Baird, New Internationalist)


Women’s agency in the DRC (https://newint.org/violence/2025/wome...) (Sophie Neiman, New Internationalist)


It’s time to hold Big Tech accountable for violence in the DRC (https://newint.org/violence/2024/its-...) (Passy Mubalama, New Internationalist)


Transition Minerals Tracker: 2025 Global Analysis (https://www.business-humanrights.org/...) (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre)


In numbers: Critical mineral production, ownership and social unrest (https://globalwitness.org/en/campaign...) (Global Witness)


Avoid Amazon by shopping at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical Shop (https://ethicalshop.org/?utm_source=P...)


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