Zuma praises Kabila amid protests over his usurping of power
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma yesterday congratulated Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila on the relative stability and progress made in the vast central African nation.
“We gather here at a time when your country is going through a political transition, following the December 2016 political agreement. This agreement charted a process that should lead to the next elections,” Zuma said in his opening remarks at the 10th session of the South Africa-DRC Bi-national Commission (BNC) in Pretoria.
“We congratulate you, Mr President, on the progress achieved thus far and the manner in which you have handled the process. The people of the DRC need to determine and decide their political future. And the best way to do so is through negotiations and dialogue. The people of the DRC have proved in the past their ability to dialogue.”
Zuma said given the close and strong collaboration between Kinshasa and Pretoria, the South African authorities welcomed Kabila on this official visit.
“We have used the BNC mechanism to identify critical areas of co-operation. The first decade of our BNC was largely to assist the DRC in areas of institutional capacity-building,” Zuma said.
This included training the DRC’s army, police and diplomats; providing technical electoral support; and conducting the public service census.
“It is clear to us that we have made substantial progress over the years. The DRC of 2017 is different from that of 2004 when we started our collaboration within the context of the BNC. The DRC is now politically stable and the security situation has improved.
“Where there are still challenges the government of the DRC with the assistance of the region, continent and international community, is addressing those.
“In this regard we encourage you and your government to continue on this path,” Zuma said.
Zuma also urged parties in the DRC to commit to dialogue, even when they differed.
Kabila’s official visit to South Africa was, however, marked by protests as scores of DRC nationals gathered at the main entrance to the Sefako Makgatho presidential guesthouse denouncing Kabila.
The protesters said the meeting between Zuma and Kabila was a non-event.
“Our constitution dictates that at the end of his second term Kabila must have vacated from power.
“An election should have been held, but he hasn’t made that election happen. He has no legitimacy to be called a president, because we need free and fair elections to elect a leader of the DRC,” a protest leader, Jean Bwasa, said.
“When somebody is illegitimate and illegal, how do you recognise the deals and the trade bilateral deals that he is signing here? They are irrelevant. They are void and nullified,” he added.
“When we have a new, legitimate government, these deals will not be recognised by the people of Congo. Whatever they are signing today is their private business. It doesn’t concern the DRC,” he said.
“Joseph Kabila is not a legitimate president. He is actually a criminal. Why is South Africa wasting money rolling out for him the red carpet? We won’t allow him to go inside. You will have to arrest us first,” one of the protesters told a police officer manning the main entrance.
Several police officers were deployed at the entrance to the presidential guesthouse, while public order policing vehicles were also present.