Vodacom Congo (DRC) said in a statement that it suffered an intrusion at a technical facility in Goma, North Kivu, on Jan. 26, 2026, resulting in a loss of control over its network in the affected area. The operator said the disruption affected voice, SMS, internet and M-Pesa services.

The company said its teams were working to restore services as soon as possible and apologized for the disruption, which it said was beyond its control.

Residents and information shared on social media suggest the outage extends beyond Goma’s urban area. According to these accounts, connectivity problems have also been reported in other parts of North Kivu, including Rutshuru, Masisi and Sake. Vodacom has not publicly detailed the full geographic scope of the disruption.

The incident comes amid a fragile security situation. Goma has been under the control of the AFC/M23 since late January 2025, with banks closed since that time. A prolonged outage of telephone and mobile payment services could further complicate daily life, including for government employees in the area, whose salaries are paid via mobile wallets.

One resident said the M-Pesa mobile application remains functional despite the broader service disruption. Vodacom has not confirmed this.

Timothée Manoke