Category: Politics

{Security forces patrolled the streets of Kinshasa on Sunday after the suspension of last-ditch talks seeking a peaceful end to a crisis sparked by the end of Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s mandate.}

Negotiations to agree on a way forward after December 20, when Kabila’s second term finishes, were halted on Saturday with no significant progress made.

Fears of fresh political violence in mineral-rich but unstable Democratic Republic of Congo were running high, with no elections planned and Kabila showing no inclination to step down.

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Talks are due to resume on Wednesday when Catholic bishops acting as mediators return from a long-planned trip to Rome — a day after Kabila’s term ends.

AFP reporters saw security forces posted in large numbers in opposition strongholds and other flashpoints around Kinshasa, the teeming capital of 10 million.

“We’re waiting to see what happens. The politicians are okay, it’s us, the little people, who suffer,” a supervisor at a cleaning company told AFP.

“Things are not normal. We are very worried,” said 25-year-old Atine Butela, a hair salon owner.

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At the dilapidated Tata-Raphael stadium, which hosted the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman, the usual crowd of runners, football players and boxers, was noticeably small.

“Normally, there are 700 or 800 people. Today there must be fewer than 250,” visitor Michel Kabamba said outside.

“Soldiers are criss-crossing the city, which creates a sense of fear… Some people have already made plans, foreigners have left …”

In the run-up to Christmas, however, churches were as busy as ever in a country where Christians make up 80 percent of the population.

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Kabila, constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, has indicated he wants to stay in power until a successor is chosen, but some opposition figures want him to hand over to a transitional leadership while awaiting the vote.

The 45-year-old has been in power since his father Laurent Kabila was assassinated in 2001. He was elected in 2006, and again in 2011, in polls decried as rigged by the opposition.

Last week’s talks sponsored by the Congolese bishops’ conference (CENCO) brought together the ruling party and fringe opposition groups, allied against a mainstream opposition coalition led by the 84-year-old Etienne Tshisekedi.

But despite three days of mediation they broke up on Saturday, with no progress made on the main issues that divide the two sides.

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Kabila’s opponents accuse him of delaying the vote in the hope of tweaking the Constitution to extend his family’s hold over a nation that is almost the size of western Europe.

Tshisekedi’s opposition grouping had threatened to bring people into the streets from Monday if the talks failed.

Leaflets urging people to retake Kinshasa “street by street, district by district until we retake the whole of the DRC”, have begun to circulate in the capital.

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But so far the opposition has not given an order to mobilise, while the international community is urging calm on all sides.

Tensions were also running high elsewhere in the country, with security heightened notably in the towns of Lubumbashi, Goma and Kisangani.

Church mediators have warned that failing to find a political settlement will lead to “an uncontrollable situation”, a stark prospect in a country that barely two decades ago plunged into the deadliest conflict in modern African history.

Congo’s two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s dragged in at least six African armies and left more than three million dead.

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The European Union urged the two sides to reach a deal for “transparent, credible” elections to be held as soon as possible.

The UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, also appealed for calm, saying the political players had a “historic responsibility to reach a negotiated settlement on holding elections.”

In Rome, Pope Francis urged worshippers to “pray that the dialogue in the Democratic Republic of Congo proceeds calmly, to avoid any violence and for the good of the whole country.”

A democratic handover would break ground for Congo’s 70 million people who since independence from Belgium in 1960 have never witnessed political change at the ballot box.

{The suspect is a resident of Hakabungo cell in Mukaranje ward, Katuna town council.}

Police in Kabale is holding a twenty-two-year-old man for allegedly injecting his two nephews with blood infected with HIV/AIDs.

The suspect is a resident of Hakabungo cell in Mukaranje ward, Katuna town council. The incident occurred on December 12 this year.

Mr Nelson Nshangabashaija, the Local Council Three chairperson for Katuna town council said the suspect used a syringe to get infected blood from his body before he injected it to the victims who are all aged four.

According to Mr Nshangabashaija, the suspect has been staying with his grandmother and is believed to have acquired the virus from his late parents.

He said that this is the first incident of this nature to happen in the area.

Mr Elly Maate, the police spokesperson for Kigezi region told this reporter that the suspect was arrested on Saturday from his hideout in Katuna town council. He is being detained at Kabale central Police station.

In January 2014, Rosemary Namubiru, a 65-year-old nurse at Victoria Medical Centre in Kampala was arrested for allegedly injecting a two-year-old baby with blood infected with HIV/AIDs. She was later released by Court in November 2014.

{A leading member of an opposition party coalition known as the “Rassemblement” is urging the Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila to reach an agreement with the group and step down to allow a smooth transition. President Kabila’s official second and final term expires on December 19.}

Freddy Mbuyamu Matungulu, leader of the opposition Congo Nabiso Party, (our Congo, in the local Lingala dialect) says opposition leaders forming the Rassemblement are meeting in the capital, Kinshasa, to decide the country’s transition process and steps forward after Kabila steps down on Monday.

He also says a court ruling that paves the way for President Kabila to remain in office after his term expires lacks credibility and support from the public.

“We are discussing the arrangement that should be put in place so that we are able to manage the country peacefully, until we get to the time when elections could be held,” said Matungulu.

“As you can see, the president’s political alliance is talking with us and I think it’s the recognition of the fact that that ruling doesn’t have sufficient force to allow him to continue to stay in power when his term comes to an end on December 19.”

His remarks came after the United States said it was deeply concerned about the potential for unrest and violence on or around December 19, when Kabila second and final term in office was to end with the inauguration of a democratically elected successor.

“We urge both the government and opposition to cooperate fully and in good faith with the DRC’s Conference of Catholic Bishops (CENCO) to finalize an inclusive agreement as soon as possible on the holding of elections, parameters for an interim government, and a peaceful transfer of power. We further urge the DRC government and opposition parties to refrain from any actions or statements that could incite violence or unlawful activity in the coming days and weeks,” read a statement by Mark Toner, Deputy spokesman at the U.S. State Department.

“At this critical moment in Congo’s history, we call on opposition party leaders, civil society representatives, ruling coalition officials, and leaders of the DRC government to renew their commitment to nonviolence and redouble their efforts to reach an inclusive agreement acceptable to all sides.”

Matungulu welcomed Washington’s call. He adds that the opposition coalition is cooperating with the Conference of Catholic Bishops. This, he says, is because the conference has the most appropriate framework which he says could lead to an agreement with the government to move the country forward.

Matungulu also expressed concern about reports of a government directive seeking to force telecommunication companies operating in the country to block access to social media sites on December 18. Civil society and international human rights groups sharply condemned the move.

“This is one of the actions that the government is undertaking that is bringing our country backwards by 20 years when it comes to progress on the road to more political openness and democracy. And I think it is important that we find an agreement that will kind of reset the democracy clock in our country so that we can all live peacefully and the government then wouldn’t have to be taking the kind of restrictive measures that can unfortunately, only hurt the future prospects of this country,” said Matungulu.

“The president should understand that this country needs to move forward and this is the effort that we all are making, around the bishops of this country to try to find a peaceful settlement to this huge crisis that the country is going through.”

“We are hoping that we would be able to reach that agreement with the government so that the country can move very quickly to the elections and therefore the swearing in of the new president. We hope that this can be done in 2017 and I think if we are able to do that we would have solved most of the political problems we have in this country,” he added.

{US political transition may disrupt engagement on DRC as potential for violence remains high.}

A United States atrocity prevention advocate has warned that Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila could “capitalise” on a change in foreign policy under US President Donald Trump.

Trump will take office next month on 20 January, 2017, a month after his Congolese counterpart Kabila’s final term expires. Kabila is due to stand down on 19 December, but he has been accused of political manoeuvring to ensure he can remain in power indefinitely, and there are growing fears Kabila’s push to keep power will spark major violence.

There are concerns political transition in the US will completely disrupt engagement in Congo, making the African country no longer a “top priority” for the world’s largest economy.

“One of the main concerns I have right now is with the change in power in the US government and the chasm that will be left in US foreign policy, with crucial positions like the special envoy being vacated at such a crucial time, it is unlikely there will be much action taken from the US government,” Mike Brand, director of policy and programs at JWW, a Los Angeles-based human rights organisation with expertise on mass atrocity prevention, told IBTimes UK.

“I fear that Kabila could capitalise on this and take actions he may otherwise be afraid to, knowing he will likely not face reprisals from the US government.”

Tom Perriello, the US special envoy to the Great Lakes appointed by Secretary of State John Kerry in July 2015 who has been vocal about Kabila’s actions, will be replaced as part of Trump’s new cabinet. Perriello replaced Russell Feingold who resigned after announcing his candidacy as a Democrat for the US Senate.

‘Without that spotlight on DRC, there’s no telling what can happen’

The limited spotlight the international community has placed on Kabila and the situation in DRC may be helping to limit violent crackdowns on dissent by the government, but a potential lack of actions from the US government may have wider implications, Brand warned.

“If the US government isn’t pressing, the European Union and United Nations might not either. Kabila might take this opportunity as a carte blanche to crack down harder than he might normally,” he explained. “Without that spotlight, there’s no telling what can happen.”

It remains uncertain what may result from the DRC’s powerful Catholic church (CENCO)’s mediated dialogue. Similarly, how the country reacts to Kabila not stepping down, and in turn, how the Kabila’s government reacts to civil society’s protests remains to be seen.

The potential for violence and instability in the DRC is very high. Brand highlighted how the inertia of actors involved – including the UN, US, EU and the East African Community – means that “they have not planned for this reality and are now trying to figure out what to do”.

“The most frustrating thing about the current situation in the DRC is that this situation was 100% avoidable,” he explained. “It wasn’t a secret that the constitution allows for a president to have only two terms, and we knew Kabila’s mandate was going to end in 2016. The international community should have started engagement on this issue immediately following the 2011 elections. We can’t continue to wait until there are flashpoints of violence to take action. ”

US and EU imposed sanctions on several individuals, but not Kabila.

“The fact is that there are limited points of leverage that the international community can and is willing to use against Kabila, but much more pressure and accountability will need to be exerted over Kabila to make it in his interest to allow for democratic transition. The big question will be: how do we create a transition plan that will not cause conflict, and will give Kabila the assurances he needs to feel comfortable about leaving power?”

Brand recommends bringing forward the proposed April 2018 election date considerably, which he says may be a way in which civil society “will be able to stomach a mid-2017 poll, if elections are organised, Kabila does not run, and they are free and fair”.

Organizing elections by mid-2017 will require considerable cooperation and support from the international community – including its hesitation so far to disburse the rising budgets demanded by the DRC’s electoral commission.

{ODM leader Raila Odinga’s lawyers have gone to court seeking to reverse an election law after he failed to meet its deadline.}

The party’s lawyer on Wednesday challenged the implementation of the law that requires candidates in the 2017 elections to submit a list of their campaign finance management committees.

The penalty for violating the law is a fine of Sh2 million or a conviction of five years in jail or both.

Incidentally, this requirement was among the amendments made to the Elections Act by the joint select parliamentary committee whose members were drawn from Cord and Jubilee. It was part of the amicable solution to the deadly demonstrations that Cord organised to push for the exit of the nine electoral commissioners.

The law also demands that politicians seeking office next year should open bank accounts and name the people who will manage them.

On Wednesday, Mr Norman Magaya, the Cord secretariat executive director, conceded that Mr Odinga failed to comply with the Election Finance Act.

“Our candidate, Raila Odinga, did not comply because that law was defective. We still do not have candidates. The law only requires candidates to make such submissions,” he said.

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One is declared a candidate after being nominated and given a nomination certificate. Before then, one is only an aspirant.

Although failure to comply cannot directly stop Mr Odinga from contesting in the coming elections, it could affect his campaign spending.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is expected to watch the expenditure of every politician to ensure that they all comply with the caps set in law. Under the new election rules, a presidential candidate is expected to spend a maximum of Sh5.2 billion on his election campaigns.

His Wiper Democratic Movement counterpart, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, and the Wiper Party have both complied with the law. But the party on Wednesday said it was solidly in support of the application filed by ODM.

“Our presidential candidate is in compliance and our party is also in compliance. But we must say that we are fully in support of the ODM position that the regulations had not been approved by Parliament and, therefore, cannot be said to be binding,” said the party’s secretary-general, Mr Hassan Omar.

Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi has also complied with the law. “The Amani leader has met the requirements,” his spokesman, Mr Kibisu Kabatesi, said.

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President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is expected to defend his seat through the Jubilee Party, has also complied, as has his party.

Reacting to ODM’s decision to go to court, the electoral commission communication manager, Mr Andrew Limo, said: “We will stick to the law, but we can’t say much as the law will take its own course.”

The commission also said that no one can spend campaign money without opening an authorised bank account and appointing people to run it. The names of the appointees must be submitted to the commission within the stipulated time, in this case, eight months to the election.

Incidentally, this requirement was among the amendments made to the elections law by the joint select parliamentary committee, whose members were from Cord and Jubilee. It was part of the amicable solution to the demonstrations that Cord organised to push for the exit of the nine electoral commissioners.

In the case filed by Mr Anthony Oluoch, for ODM, says that the electoral commission had no powers to publish the regulations before Parliament approved them.

Lady Justice Roselyn Aburili certified the case as urgent and directed ODM to serve the commission with the court papers.

The case will be heard on December 29.

{The political dialogue in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resumed on Wednesday after hitting a snag on Tuesday.}

One of the opposition parties, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), a party formed by Jean Pierre Bemba who is on trial at the Hague, on Tuesday announced it was withdrawing from the political process.

The move by the MLC was to protest what it considered an under representation in the political process aimed at averting a major political crisis before the end of the year.

The MLC had two representatives taking part in the process instead of the four it had requested. Other parties in the process have at least 5 representatives participating in the dialogue.

The MLC however returned to the talks on Wednesday afternoon after some adjustments were made to accommodate another one of its members, bringing its total number of representative to three.

The leadership of the MLC is also unhappy about what it describes as the ‘dominance’ of the Rassemblement, the main opposition coalition led by veteran politician Etienne Tshisekedi, in the process.

The political dialogue been spearheaded by the Catholic Bishops Conference is seen as the last chance to avert chaos in the DRC before president Kabila’s term officially expires on December 19.

It aims to find a compromise to pave way for a period of political transition between December 20 when president Kabila’s term ends and the election of his successor.

In October the majority and a faction of the opposition reached an agreement to defer the presidential election in the DRC to an indefinite date and make provision for president Kabila to remain in power in return for the appointment of an opposition Prime Minister. But the opposition has rejected this agreement.

The current negotiations are thus aimed at reaching a consensus between the signatories of the October agreement and those who have rejected the “national dialogue” that led to the compromise.