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Congo on a knife-edge as opposition leader calls for Kabila to step down Congo on a knife-edge as opposition leader calls for Kabila to step down
(about 5 hours later)
Moise Katumbi, the most popular politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo according to recent polls, has made a dramatic intervention in the ongoing crisis in the vast central African state, calling on the president, Joseph Kabila, to stand down within 24 hours to avoid chaos and bloodshed. Moise Katumbi, the most popular politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to recent polls, has intervened in the country’s ongoing crisis by calling on the president, Joseph Kabila, to stand down to avoid chaos and bloodshed.
The DRC is bracing for violent protests and riots when the mandate of Kabila, whom critics accuse of seeking to hold on to power indefinitely, expires on Monday night. A massive security presence, the suspension of the internet and a wave of arrests appeared to have largely stifled expected opposition protests on Monday against the continuing rule of Kabila.
Opposition officials have spoken of a “trial of strength on the streets” in coming days. With less than 12 hours before Kabila’s mandate expired at midnight – launching the vast resource-rich central African state into the political unknown – there were only scattered clashes and standoffs between security forces and opposition protestors in the capital, Kinshasa.
Hundreds of armed police have set up checkpoints around Kinshasa, the capital, while soldiers in armoured vehicles have been deployed to strategic points in the sprawling city of 12 million. Opposition leaders have repeatedly promised to launch a wave of civil protest on Monday to force Kabila, who took power in 2001 and has won two elections, to step down and most observers expected widespread violence. The constitution does not allow a third term.
Observers fear the chronically poor and unstable state, which has never known a peaceful transfer of power since gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, could plunge into a prolonged period of damaging, and possibly very violent, instability. Katumbi, the former governor of the southern province of Katanga, called on Kabila to step down before he became “an illegitimate” ruler. “[He] does not want the elections so I am advising him it is still possible to leave a legacy. It is very important … At midnight on [Monday] he will no longer be a legitimate president,” Katumbi told the Guardian in a telephone interview.
Katumbi, the former governor of the southern province of Katanga, is seen as the only serious opposition candidate for the presidency. He said Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, should step down before becoming an illegitimate ruler. Katumbi has been in exile since being convicted on a minor charge of fraud which supporters say was politically motivated. He said he has no immediate intention of returning to DRC.
“I am advising him it is still possible to leave a legacy. It is very important … At midnight on [Monday] he will no longer be a legitimate president,” Katumbi told the Guardian in a telephone interview on Sunday night. “If I want to go back I can go today or tomorrow but I am a man of peace. I do not want my people to die. We want peace to be our priority. [Kabila] can shoot me, jail me, kill me and create more chaos. I don’t want that. I want a peaceful transfer of power,” said Katumbi, who has spent recent weeks traveling between western capitals to rally support.
The crisis has been building for several months. Both negotiations and protests have intensified as the end of Kabila’s mandate approaches. Critics accuse Kabila of seeking to hold on to power indefinitely, and promised a “trial of strength on the streets” in coming days. Talks between the government and opposition factions are suspended but are scheduled to restart later this week.
Katumbi, 51, who has been in exile since being convicted on a minor fraud that supporters say was politically motivated, called on “all the soldiers, the police, everyone, not to shoot on the people”. Valentin Mubake, chief political adviser to veteran opposition leader Étienne Tshisekedi, said the absence of violence was “the calm before the storm”.
“The military are of the people of Congo. They do not work for one person. Their suffering is the suffering of the people,” Katumbi said. Supporters and ministers say Kabila, 45, has no intention of clinging to office and have promise elections would be held as soon as practically possible. They dismiss the opposition as troublemakers who do not reflect the will of the country’s 70 million inhabitants.
In September, more than 60 people died when security forces opened fire on an opposition march calling for Kabila to step down. At least four policemen were lynched. Opposition leaders in the DRC have said they would not call for mass demonstrations on Monday, but would let “the people express their anger” instead. Observers fear the crisis could plunge DRC, which has never known a peaceful transfer of power since gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, into a prolonged period of damaging, and possibly very violent, instability.
“There will be lots of deaths. We will never know their number, because we never do around here but there will be many, sadly,” Valentin Mubake, political adviser to the DRC’s main opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi, said on Sunday. Such concerns will be reinforced by reports of renewed fighting in eastern DRC on Monday linked to the political crisis. A newly emerged armed group broadly connected to the opposition launched assaults overnight on government troops’ positions in North Kivu, according to humanitarian officials.
Last-minute talks brokered by the Catholic church between government representatives and a coalition of opposition groups failed to reach agreement on Saturday, but are scheduled to start again this week after bishops visited Rome, where they will see Pope Francis. Over the weekend tens of thousands of armed police and paramilitaries were deployed on to streets across the country, while armoured vehicles protected at strategic points in key towns and cities.
Government officials blame the opposition for the lack of progress in reaching a settlement, and accuse western powers, which have tried to pressure Kabila to make concessions by imposing sanctions on key members of his entourage, of “a neo-colonial mindset”. In September more than 60 people died when security forces opened fire on an opposition march.
“Today there were lots of police everywhere so we did not go into the streets. But we will tomorrow,” said one opposition activist in Bunia, a city near the Ugandan border.
In Kinshasa almost all shops and businesses were shuts, and streets were largely deserted.
There were unconfirmed reports that scores of detentions and arrests. Organisations such as Lucha and Filimbi favoured by young, educated opposition activists appear to have been particularly targeted. Gloria Sengha, a prominent member of Lcuha, has not been missing for the past three days, friends and family told local media. The 23-year-old lawyer was last seen in Kinshasa, Her current whereabouts were unknown, they said.
The opposition has been hobbled by a lack of unity and by successive crackdowns.
The crisis has been building for many months. Both negotiations and protests have intensified as the end of Kabila’s mandate has approached. Washington and European capitals have sought to pressure him into holding elections.
Last-minute talks brokered by the Catholic church between DRC government representatives and a coalition of opposition groups failed to reach agreement on Saturday, but are scheduled to start again on Wednesday after Congolese bishops return form a visit to Rome where they will see Pope Francis.
Government officials blame the opposition for the lack of progress in reaching a settlement and accuse western powers, which have tried to pressure Kabila to make concessions by imposing sanctions on key members of his entourage, of “a neo-colonial mindset”.
“The US and the Europeans shouldn’t try and force us. It’s a pretty clumsy approach to take. It is lucky that the president is a very calm man,” said Lambert Mende, minister of information and a close confidante of Kabila.“The US and the Europeans shouldn’t try and force us. It’s a pretty clumsy approach to take. It is lucky that the president is a very calm man,” said Lambert Mende, minister of information and a close confidante of Kabila.
Large groups of young men gathered on Sunday outside the offices of Kabila’s party and coalition allies. But there is little doubt there is widespread popular discontent over Kabila’s rule.
“He is a man of peace, our president. Those others in the so-called opposition are hooligans, bandits,” said Marius Bayolo, 29. On Monday, a crowd gathered by the roadside near the University of Kinshasa, waving red cards – mimicking football referees – and shouting anti-Kabila slogans.
A key question now is if opposition parties can channel widespread popular discontent – or are seen as part of the problem rather than a potential solution by ordinary people. “He must go. We are all suffering too much. There is too much pain from him for us. The government are thieves,” said Olivier, a 28-year-old unemployed law graduate.
High inflation, the devaluation of the local currency and flagging investment is causing deep economic hardship throughout the country, where two-thirds of the estimated 70 million population live on less than US$2 a day. At the university hundreds of students faced off with riot police who forced journalists away from the scene. Elsewhere in the capital there were reports of stones being thrown at security forces and public buses.
Many observers believe Katumbi, who also owns one of Africa’s most successful football clubs, could unify the fragmented opposition and present a more credible alternative to Kabila than Tshisekedi, the 84-year-old former prime minister who is currently its most senior figure. Countrywide protests are scheduled for Tuesday, however, raising the prospect of further unrest later in the week.
However, Katumbi, who has spent recent weeks travelling between western capitals to rally support, said he did not want to cause bloodshed by returning too soon. “If I want to go back I can go today or tomorrow but I am a man of peace. I do not want my people to die. We want peace to be our priority. [Kabila] can shoot me, jail me, kill me and create more chaos. I don’t want that. I want a peaceful transfer of power,” he said. High inflation, the devaluation of local currency and flagging investment is causing deep economic hardship throughout DRC, where two-thirds of population live on less than £1.50 a day.
In 2006, Kabila oversaw the first free vote in decades, ushering in a period of relative stability and economic growth as mining firms invested billions of dollars. Many observers believe Katumbi, who also owns one of Africa’s most successful football clubs, could unify the fragmented opposition and present a more credible alternative to Kabila than Tshisekedi, a 84-year-old former prime minister.
The reclusive former guerrilla leader won a second, contested election in 2011. In 2006, Kabila oversaw the first free vote in DRC in decades, ushering in a period of relative stability and economic growth as mining firms invested billions of dollars.
But many observers now fear a return to the brutal civil wars that killed an estimated 5 million people in the DRC between 1997, when the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko was ousted after a 32-year rule, and 2003. But many observers now fear a return to the brutal civil wars in which an estimated 5 million people were killed between 1997, when the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko was ousted after a 32-year rule, and 2003.
“It is the balance of power on the ground which counts … The balance of power will now be worked out on the streets and then we will talk again. But in the long run, whether it’s around a table or in the streets, Kabila will lose,” said Mubake, the opposition adviser. “It is the balance of power on the ground which counts … The balance of power will now be worked out on the streets and then we will talk again. But in the long run, whether its around a table or in the streets, Kabila will lose,” said Mubake, Tshisekedi’s adviser.