{"id":2000115443,"date":"2026-06-12T11:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000115443"},"modified":"2026-06-12T11:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:46:11","slug":"kabila-condemns-tshisekedis-constitutional-reform-plan-warns-of-democratic-backsliding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/kabila-condemns-tshisekedis-constitutional-reform-plan-warns-of-democratic-backsliding\/","title":{"rendered":"Kabila condemns Tshisekedi\u2019s constitutional reform plan, warns of democratic backsliding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a statement released late on June 11, 2026, Kabila, who led the country from 2001 to 2019, said the country was \u201cheading towards a cliff\u201d and risked instability or fragmentation unless urgent political reforms were undertaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement came two days after members of the Congolese Parliament approved by majority a proposal to initiate a referendum on constitutional reform, a process widely seen by critics as potentially paving the way for Tshisekedi to extend his stay in power beyond the constitutional two-term limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kabila described the current governance system as marked by \u201carrogance,\u201d discrimination, and disregard for fundamental freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur country is governed in an arrogant manner, one that suppresses freedoms, is corrosive, and marked by widespread discrimination against many categories of Congolese. What makes it worse is that it is governed in a way that does not respect established laws,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that the parliamentary vote reflected a broader shift toward entrenching executive power, warning that the constitutional revision process had moved beyond political speculation into active implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kabila also warned that the Constitution, as the country\u2019s foundational legal framework, should not be altered for political convenience, saying such a move would amount to a betrayal of national principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA major step has already been taken toward entrenching an authoritarian regime and establishing a system of power whose end is unknown, with no guarantee of democratic political change,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur country is increasingly becoming like a boiling pot of water about to explode because it has been deprived of the oxygen of democracy, which is essential for stability and coexistence,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kabila further called on Congolese citizens to take responsibility for defending constitutional order, arguing that external actors cannot be relied upon to resolve internal political challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing Article 64 of the Constitution, he said citizens have a duty to resist any attempt to violate the country\u2019s supreme law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the government has taken the decision to amend the Constitution, and given the consequences this may have for the country, I must remind everyone that Article 64(1) of our Constitution states that every Congolese citizen has the responsibility to oppose any individual or group using their power to violate the Constitution. This is not just a right; it is a duty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kabila concluded by urging Congolese citizens to \u201cwake up,\u201d unite, and support all actions aimed at resisting the proposed constitutional changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In a statement released late on June 11, 2026, Kabila, who led the country from 2001 to 2019, said the country was \u201cheading towards a cliff\u201d and risked instability or fragmentation unless urgent political reforms were undertaken.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Kabila described the current governance system, led by President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, as marked by \u201carrogance,\u201d discrimination, and disregard for fundamental freedoms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila has strongly criticised President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi\u2019s push to revise the Constitution, accusing his administration of authoritarian tendencies and of undermining civil liberties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000115445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[151,99],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000115443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-editors-choice","tag-greatlakesnews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000115445,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/jkk1-a6149.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":666,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/jkk1-a6149.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/jkk1-a6149.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/jkk1-a6149.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/jkk1-a6149.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/jkk1-a6149.jpg","width":1000,"height":666}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000115443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000115446,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115443\/revisions\/2000115446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000115445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000115443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000115443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000115443"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000115443"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000115443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}