{"id":2000124066,"date":"2026-08-29T12:33:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000124066"},"modified":"2026-08-29T12:33:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T10:33:54","slug":"drc-opposition-rejects-tshisekedis-new-dialogue-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/drc-opposition-rejects-tshisekedis-new-dialogue-process\/","title":{"rendered":"DRC opposition rejects Tshisekedi\u2019s new dialogue process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After Tshisekedi announced on August 27, 2026, that he had officially launched consultations aimed at finding solutions to the crises affecting the DRC, opposition figures grouped under the C64 coalition, which advocates for the defence of the Constitution, immediately rejected the initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C64 includes prominent opposition politicians such as Martin Fayulu, Mo\u00efse Katumbi, Jean-Marc Kabund, Matata Ponyo and Delly Sesanga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coalition criticised the initiative, saying it should have been a genuinely inclusive national dialogue rather than what it described as consultations organised by the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cC64 continues to condemn and reject what F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi calls national consultations, instead of launching an inclusive national dialogue. The Congolese people are not fools,\u201d the coalition said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M.A.R.C party, led by Claudel Lubaya, also rejected the initiative, arguing that the consultations favour supporters of the Tshisekedi administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposition figures say their concerns centre on how the dialogue has been organised, who has been invited and the issues expected to be discussed. They argue that the process is primarily designed to serve the political interests of the current administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fayulu and his allies have announced that they will join their supporters in a demonstration against Tshisekedi\u2019s government on September 15, 2026. The protest had previously been postponed twice as the two sides engaged in efforts to ease tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dispute is also linked to Tshisekedi\u2019s reported plans to amend the Constitution, which his opponents say could allow him to seek a third term. C64 members have vowed to strongly oppose such a move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCongo does not belong to Mr F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi. The country will not become the victim of a third term after 2028,\u201d C64 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Union Sacr\u00e9e backs Tshisekedi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While opposition groups have rejected the initiative, senior figures within Union Sacr\u00e9e, the political coalition supporting Tshisekedi, have welcomed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transport Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba described it as a \u201cnew approach to dialogue\u201d, while National Assembly Speaker Vital Kamerhe called it an unprecedented way of seeking solutions to the DRC\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tshisekedi said consultations would first be held across all 26 provinces before a national conference in Kinshasa, allowing citizens and different institutions to present their views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His supporters say the process is intended to move beyond traditional political negotiations involving only senior political figures and give ordinary citizens a role in finding solutions to the country\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joseph Kabila stance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cSauvons la RDC\u201d coalition led by former President Joseph Kabila, who governed the DRC from 2001 to 2019, supports an inclusive national dialogue but wants it to be led by an independent and impartial facilitator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kabila and his allies are calling for all parties affected by the DRC\u2019s crises to participate in the talks. They also want all sides to agree on the framework for the dialogue and for the international community to play a role in monitoring the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their position is similar to that of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Anglican Church, which have called for dialogue involving armed groups, including AFC\/M23 fighters and the CRP movement founded by Thomas Lubanga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tshisekedi has faced calls to ensure that armed groups are included in the dialogue, with critics warning that excluding them could limit the chances of reaching a lasting solution and potentially worsen the conflict, particularly in eastern DRC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
C64 coalition has rejected President Tshisekedi\u2019s dialogue plan, and announced protest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

Opposition figures in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have rejected President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi\u2019s newly launched national dialogue initiative, arguing that the way it has been organised will not provide a lasting solution to the political and security challenges facing the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000124067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[69],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000124066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-homehighlights","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":2000124067,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/fayu-c7af2.jpg","alt":"","caption":"C64 coalition has rejected President Tshisekedi\u2019s dialogue plan, and announced protest","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":755,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/fayu-c7af2.jpg","width":1000,"height":755},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/fayu-c7af2.jpg","width":1000,"height":755},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/fayu-c7af2.jpg","width":1000,"height":755},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/fayu-c7af2.jpg","width":1000,"height":755},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/fayu-c7af2.jpg","width":1000,"height":755}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000124066","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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000124066"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000124066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000124068,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000124066\/revisions\/2000124068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000124067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000124066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000124066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000124066"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000124066"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000124066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}