Eight killed in church protests against Congo leader

EIGHT people were killed and around 100 arrested yesterday in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the sidelines of marches against the rule of President Joseph Kabila, a UN source said.

Eighty-two people, including priests, were taken into custody in Kinshasa, while 41 people were arrested in the rest of the vast African nation, the source said.

Catholic churches and activists had called for peaceful demonstrations after Sunday mass, one year after the Catholic Church oversaw the signing of an accord that set a new election date to ease tensions in the mineral-rich country.

Mr Kabila, whose mandate ended in Dec 2016, had agreed to set an election by the end of 2017. Congo’s election commission says the vote cannot be held until Dec 2018, and critics accuse Mr Kabila of postponing elections to maintain his grip on power, causing tensions to increase.

The government refused permits for the demonstrations yesterday, and shut internet and SMS services nationwide ahead of the planned anti-government protests for what it called security reasons.

More than 160 churches participated in the call. Police responded with tear gas in some areas of Kinshasa. The two men killed were shot dead outside St Alphonse church in the Matete district, said Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director of Human Rights Watch.