Congo main opposition leader dies
• Stalwart Etienne Tshisekedi’s absence will weaken his party’s hopes of President Joseph Kabila handing over power at end of year
The death on Wednesday of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi leaves opponents of President Joseph Kabila seriously weakened in their bid to force him to quit power after he defied constitutional term limits to stay on in 2016.
The DRC has never experienced a peaceful transition of power and Kabila’s refusal to stand down when his final term expired in December has raised fears the unstable country could slide back into civil war.
Despite his 84 years and failing health, Tshisekedi, known as “the Sphinx” for his sparse but profound statements, remained the undisputed leader of the opposition to Kabila. He was expected to head a transitional council to oversee Kabila’s exit by the end of 2017 under a deal struck on December 31.
As hundreds of mourners congregated at his house in the capital Kinshasa on Thursday, many said they had little faith that anyone else could carry on his legacy.
He was the founder of the country’s first organised opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) in 1982 under former leader Mobutu Sese Seko’s single-party rule.
Tshisekedi was admired for remaining outside the folds of power in a country in which many opponents have cycled in and out of the government over the decades.
“He never betrayed the nation,” said supporter Rejeton Tshawuke, speaking over the loud wails of mourners.
“Many opposition leaders are only interested in money. I don’t see anyone who can take up the mantle, who can really take his place,” said construction worker Jean Bonkadi.
In an interview on Thursday, Uganda Foreign Affairs Minister Okello Oryem told Reuters the instability almost certain to follow Tshisekedi’s death meant there should be no rush to push Kabila out of office in accordance with the December deal.
“There might be a need to examine the whole time agreement,” he said.
“[Tshisekedi’s death] might cause some ripples and a shaking of the system, hence the need for Kabila to continue holding the country together until such time as things stabilise.”
Tshisekedi’s credibility with an impoverished and frustrated population enabled him to mobilise the masses like no other figure in the country. Tens of thousands lined the streets of Kinshasa last July for his return from two years abroad for medical treatment.
But Tshisekedi’s critics said that he failed to leave in place political structures that could survive him. His absence from the country touched off bitter infighting within the UDPS.
His son Felix’s rapid ascent within the party’s ranks has led to criticism that the UDPS had become a private family patrimony. He is now tipped to become the next prime minister in a power-sharing government.
There are few obvious opposition leaders to assume Tshisekedi’s leadership role.
The former governor of the country’s copper-mining region, Moise Katumbi, has consolidated support from several prominent opposition groupings for a planned presidential bid.
However, Katumbi has been in self-imposed exile since May after the government accused him of plotting against the state — charges he denies.
Meanwhile, negotiations on implementing the December deal had already stalled amid wrangling over the composition of the power-sharing government, rendering the prospect of an election by the end the year increasingly remote.
Stephanie Wolters, head of the Peace and Security Research programme at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, said that Tshisekedi’s absence would inevitably cause further delays and could undermine opposition unity.