Protests errupt in Congo as president refuses to resign
THERE were scattered protests in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday morning, as opponents of President Joseph Kabila defied a ban on demonstrations to demand that he leave power.
Monday was meant to be Kabila’s last day in office, but his coalition claimed they were unprepared to hold elections until 2018, a move widely perceived by millions of Congolese and the international community as way to extend his rule. Opposition leaders encouraged their followers to defy Kabila and his security forces in the streets, where police and soldiers had been deployed en masse.
By mid-morning on Tuesday, protesters continued to throw rocks and burn tyres in some of Kinshasa’s most concentrated neighbourhoods, blowing whistles and demanding Kabila’s resignation. But they were overpowered by security forces which dispersed crowds with tear gas and the threat of greater force. During demonstrations in September, about 50 people were killed.
“Today we are taking things into our own hands,” said Peter Kabongo, 27, who was preparing to stage a demonstration in Kinshasa’s Matete district, where periodic gunfire could be heard. “The police have guns, but there are millions of us who want Kabila out.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country, has not had a peaceful handover of power since it became independent in 1960. Kabila has ruled since 2001, when he assumed the presidency after the assassination of his father, President LaurentDésiré Kabila.
Many expected that Kabila would attempt to hold on to power beyond his second term, which expired on Monday, but the country’s constitution does not permit leaders to run for a third term. In claiming that his country was not prepared financially or logistically to hold elections, Kabila appears to have found a way to extend his rule for at least two more years.
The country’s Constitutional Court approved that plan, even as the majority of Congolese would like Kabila to step down, according to polls. In this mineral rich country, power often translates to wealth, and reports have linked Kabila’s family to a large fortune, even as most citizens here earn less than $2 per day.
Negotiations between Kabila’s coalition and the largely fragmented opposition have so far been unsuccessful. In a video posted Monday night, opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi called on people to “peacefully resist [Kabila’s] coup d’etat.”
Kabila’s chief diplomatic adviser, Kikaya Bin Karubi, called those who had taken to the streets against Kabila a “loud and insistent mob”. He said the demonstrations would have no bearing on Kabila’s decision to stay in power until the delayed elections. Late on Monday night, the government announced new cabinet appointments, which included some opposition members who agreed to elections in 2018.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is still reeling from a series of conflicts between 1996 and 2003 that left millions dead. Experts and Western officials worry that the political instability caused by Kabila’s efforts to remain in power could reignite fighting across this vast country.
Yesterday, there were also protests in Lubumbashi, the country’s secondlargest city, and witnesses reported that protesters had set a petrol station on fire.