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| Congo Lurches Toward a New Crisis as Leader Tries to Crush a Rival | Congo Lurches Toward a New Crisis as Leader Tries to Crush a Rival |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo — As hundreds of police officers ringed the courthouse, the mob came barreling up the street. From blocks away, you could hear its hungry roar. | |
| “I am Moïse!” the people yelled. “We are ready to die today!” | “I am Moïse!” the people yelled. “We are ready to die today!” |
| At that moment, Moïse Katumbi, a popular opposition politician who is the gravest threat to President Joseph Kabila’s rule, stepped out of a Mercedes van, wearing a white shirt, white pants and white shoes, the flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo knotted jauntily around his neck. | At that moment, Moïse Katumbi, a popular opposition politician who is the gravest threat to President Joseph Kabila’s rule, stepped out of a Mercedes van, wearing a white shirt, white pants and white shoes, the flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo knotted jauntily around his neck. |
| The crowd exploded in a celebratory frenzy. The police officers surged, swinging clubs, slamming protesters to the ground and firing tear gas. Clouds of acrid purple smoke cut through the tropical air. | The crowd exploded in a celebratory frenzy. The police officers surged, swinging clubs, slamming protesters to the ground and firing tear gas. Clouds of acrid purple smoke cut through the tropical air. |
| Congo’s government, which is continuously lurching from one crisis to the next, is now playing a very dangerous game. Mr. Kabila, who faces term limits, is resisting international calls and rising pressure in Congo to relinquish power by the end of this year, as Congo’s Constitution requires. | Congo’s government, which is continuously lurching from one crisis to the next, is now playing a very dangerous game. Mr. Kabila, who faces term limits, is resisting international calls and rising pressure in Congo to relinquish power by the end of this year, as Congo’s Constitution requires. |
| Instead, Mr. Kabila seems to be withdrawing deeper inside the corner he has painted himself into. He has unleashed his security forces on protesters, strained relations with powerful friends like the United States and lashed out at perceived enemies. | Instead, Mr. Kabila seems to be withdrawing deeper inside the corner he has painted himself into. He has unleashed his security forces on protesters, strained relations with powerful friends like the United States and lashed out at perceived enemies. |
| His security services, especially the dreaded intelligence agency, are now going after the biggest fish of them all: Mr. Katumbi, who seems to have the whole city of Lubumbashi and a good part of the country rallying around him. | His security services, especially the dreaded intelligence agency, are now going after the biggest fish of them all: Mr. Katumbi, who seems to have the whole city of Lubumbashi and a good part of the country rallying around him. |
| “I love Moïse more than I love my wife,” said Jackie Roko, a vendor of belts here in Lubumbashi, Congo’s second-largest city. | |
| Mr. Katumbi, an affable, loquacious and very rich former governor, declared last week that he was running for president. He has the money, the network and the cult of personality to be a real contender. He even has his own soccer team, TP Mazembe — the Bulldozers — one of Africa’s most successful. And he has begun to unify Congo’s opposition, which no other politician has ever come close to doing. | Mr. Katumbi, an affable, loquacious and very rich former governor, declared last week that he was running for president. He has the money, the network and the cult of personality to be a real contender. He even has his own soccer team, TP Mazembe — the Bulldozers — one of Africa’s most successful. And he has begun to unify Congo’s opposition, which no other politician has ever come close to doing. |
| The case against Mr. Katumbi taps into much of Congo’s sordid past: a whiff of rebellion, the use of foreign mercenaries and the way power in Congo tends to be exercised, absolutely and with ruthlessness. | The case against Mr. Katumbi taps into much of Congo’s sordid past: a whiff of rebellion, the use of foreign mercenaries and the way power in Congo tends to be exercised, absolutely and with ruthlessness. |
| Until last year, Mr. Katumbi, 51, was king of this part of Congo. | Until last year, Mr. Katumbi, 51, was king of this part of Congo. |
| He was a close confidant of Mr. Kabila’s and was the governor of Katanga Province, which produces a good chunk of the world’s copper supply. During his nine years in office, he was widely credited with improving the business climate, helping the poor and cracking down on corruption. But corruption and influence-peddling remain rife. | He was a close confidant of Mr. Kabila’s and was the governor of Katanga Province, which produces a good chunk of the world’s copper supply. During his nine years in office, he was widely credited with improving the business climate, helping the poor and cracking down on corruption. But corruption and influence-peddling remain rife. |
| Mr. Katumbi has a flair for the flamboyant that evokes Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo’s former dictator renown for his opulence. Mr. Katumbi’s mansion in Lubumbashi is lined with ivory tusks, giant vases, enormous paintings and acres of marble and white leather. Out back is a tennis court with murals of him swatting a ball, and he enjoys hosting visitors for an afternoon match, no matter what is happening outside. Then there are his chapel, kingly gardens and an enormous aquarium, full of gulping fish. | Mr. Katumbi has a flair for the flamboyant that evokes Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo’s former dictator renown for his opulence. Mr. Katumbi’s mansion in Lubumbashi is lined with ivory tusks, giant vases, enormous paintings and acres of marble and white leather. Out back is a tennis court with murals of him swatting a ball, and he enjoys hosting visitors for an afternoon match, no matter what is happening outside. Then there are his chapel, kingly gardens and an enormous aquarium, full of gulping fish. |
| Each night, outside his towering gates, scores if not hundreds of people gather. They are his citizen sentries. They stand in clumps in the dark, craning their necks up and down the street, ready to battle anyone who tries to take their hero — and benefactor — away. | Each night, outside his towering gates, scores if not hundreds of people gather. They are his citizen sentries. They stand in clumps in the dark, craning their necks up and down the street, ready to battle anyone who tries to take their hero — and benefactor — away. |
| “Moïse, Moïse,” an older woman pleaded, rapping her gray knuckles on the gate. “Transport. Transport.” | “Moïse, Moïse,” an older woman pleaded, rapping her gray knuckles on the gate. “Transport. Transport.” |
| She wanted money for a taxi home — or maybe just money. Dozens of other women, dressed in rags, pushed and shoved behind her, pleading for the same. | She wanted money for a taxi home — or maybe just money. Dozens of other women, dressed in rags, pushed and shoved behind her, pleading for the same. |
| Mr. Katumbi spends a lot of time behind those gates. He is now essentially an enemy of the state. | Mr. Katumbi spends a lot of time behind those gates. He is now essentially an enemy of the state. |
| Last week, Congo’s justice minister announced that the government had “documented proof” that Mr. Katumbi had hired hundreds of mercenaries, including Americans, possibly in a plot to overthrown the government. | Last week, Congo’s justice minister announced that the government had “documented proof” that Mr. Katumbi had hired hundreds of mercenaries, including Americans, possibly in a plot to overthrown the government. |
| The word mercenary carries a certain electricity in Congo. In the 1960s, Belgian mercenaries fought a short-lived war to split this province off from the rest of Congo. In the mid-1990s, Mobutu used mercenaries in a last-ditch effort to stay in power. Then, in the late 1990s, when Congo plunged into chaos, soldiers from nearly a dozen African countries carted off untold millions in stolen minerals. | The word mercenary carries a certain electricity in Congo. In the 1960s, Belgian mercenaries fought a short-lived war to split this province off from the rest of Congo. In the mid-1990s, Mobutu used mercenaries in a last-ditch effort to stay in power. Then, in the late 1990s, when Congo plunged into chaos, soldiers from nearly a dozen African countries carted off untold millions in stolen minerals. |
| The justice minister showed as evidence pictures of an American, Darryl Lewis, who was arrested last month in Lubumbashi, carrying a machine gun. Mr. Lewis served in the United States military several years ago and the picture was apparently an old one, taken from a social media account. | The justice minister showed as evidence pictures of an American, Darryl Lewis, who was arrested last month in Lubumbashi, carrying a machine gun. Mr. Lewis served in the United States military several years ago and the picture was apparently an old one, taken from a social media account. |
| The United States government shot back with an unusually forceful statement saying that the allegations were false and that Mr. Lewis was never armed in Congo and worked for a private American security company. | The United States government shot back with an unusually forceful statement saying that the allegations were false and that Mr. Lewis was never armed in Congo and worked for a private American security company. |
| Mr. Katumbi said he had hired Mr. Lewis as a security adviser because government intelligence agents were stalking him and his family. Some Western diplomats said it was possible Mr. Katumbi could be assassinated. | Mr. Katumbi said he had hired Mr. Lewis as a security adviser because government intelligence agents were stalking him and his family. Some Western diplomats said it was possible Mr. Katumbi could be assassinated. |
| He was summoned to court this week, first on Monday and then again on Wednesday. | He was summoned to court this week, first on Monday and then again on Wednesday. |
| The same Lubumbashi police who used to trot after his car now scream at his supporters, telling them they were not allowed to even watch him arrive at the Palais de Justice, which, with its grand Art Deco edifice, is the most striking building in town. | The same Lubumbashi police who used to trot after his car now scream at his supporters, telling them they were not allowed to even watch him arrive at the Palais de Justice, which, with its grand Art Deco edifice, is the most striking building in town. |
| When the crowds did not move fast enough, the police turned vicious. They charged anyone standing in front of the courthouse, including us journalists. | |
| All of a sudden we were surrounded, the police closing in from all sides. They charged, thumping their clubs on their shields. People burst down the street, the lucky ones reaching nearby shops, whose doorways seemed to suck them in. I was too far away, so I kept running. | All of a sudden we were surrounded, the police closing in from all sides. They charged, thumping their clubs on their shields. People burst down the street, the lucky ones reaching nearby shops, whose doorways seemed to suck them in. I was too far away, so I kept running. |
| Congo’s government is clearly stressed. Global commodity prices have crashed, pummeling a country whose struggling economy turns on the price of minerals like copper. China, which had been Congo’s new savior, has its own economic woes and is in no position to extend the billions of dollars of easy credit it had in the past. | Congo’s government is clearly stressed. Global commodity prices have crashed, pummeling a country whose struggling economy turns on the price of minerals like copper. China, which had been Congo’s new savior, has its own economic woes and is in no position to extend the billions of dollars of easy credit it had in the past. |
| On top of that, Western governments are considering sanctions against Congolese officials for human rights abuses in connection with the political crackdowns. | On top of that, Western governments are considering sanctions against Congolese officials for human rights abuses in connection with the political crackdowns. |
| Lambert Mende, the information minister and a close ally of Mr. Kabila’s, said in a recent interview that the government did not have enough money to hold elections. He also said that if the president agreed to step down at the end of the year but the election was then delayed, “we’d start confusion, we’d start rebellions, we’d start wars.” | |
| He added, “Why should you bring the president to prepare such a game?” |