{"id":56003,"date":"2025-10-19T13:06:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T13:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/ramaphosa-warns-tshisekedi-executing-kabila-could-trigger-coup-in-drc\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T12:15:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T12:15:57","slug":"ramaphosa-warns-tshisekedi-executing-kabila-could-trigger-coup-in-drc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/ramaphosa-warns-tshisekedi-executing-kabila-could-trigger-coup-in-drc\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramaphosa warns Tshisekedi executing Kabila could trigger coup in DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>According to South African publication the Sunday Times, the warning was delivered during Tshisekedi\u2019s visit to South Africa last month as part of efforts to mediate between the two warring Congolese leaders, just two weeks before Kabila was sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and treason.<\/p>\n<p>Three sources familiar with the discussions said South Africa is now seeking a political solution with Tshisekedi\u2019s government over the Kabila matter. The initiative follows an earlier request from Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa for Ramaphosa\u2019s assistance in easing tensions in the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere isn\u2019t much substance to the charges, but it\u2019s a typical African scenario; the presidents also control the courts, so they fight political battles through them,\u201d said one senior official, quoted by the publication.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPart of Tshisekedi\u2019s problem is that Kabila is more popular than him. Kabila comes from an area where M23 operates, and that poses a threat. If someone as popular as Kabila goes to assist M23, it is a recipe for a coup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cabinet spokesperson and minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, emphasised that South Africa\u2019s priority is achieving lasting peace in the eastern DRC and the country as a whole. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Ramaphosa has already met with former president Kabila, and following that engagement, he\u2019s meeting with President Tshisekedi. There will be other meetings with other role players. We hope to also engage with M23 to ensure all parties can find common ground,\u201d Ntshavheni said.<\/p>\n<p>Kabila, who ruled the DRC for almost two decades before stepping down in 2018, was tried in absentia in July for allegedly supporting the rebels who seized significant territory in the country\u2019s east this year. He was accused of crimes against humanity, including involvement in civilian massacres, with the military\u2019s auditor-general seeking the death penalty for multiple offences.<\/p>\n<p>Insiders said South Africa was puzzled by the timing of the execution order, noting that Tshisekedi had previously agreed with Ramaphosa that such a move could undermine regional peace efforts. Kabila has long enjoyed a positive relationship with South Africa, where he had been living in exile until his visit this year to the eastern region controlled by the M23 rebels.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa and other SADC members withdrew their troops from the DRC earlier this year to allow for a political solution following deadly clashes that led to the fall of Goma to M23.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-96381 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/20240222110443000000.jpg\" alt=\"According to South African publication the Sunday Times, the warning was delivered during Tshisekedi\u2019s visit to South Africa last month as part of efforts to mediate between the two warring Congolese leaders, just two weeks before Kabila was sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and treason.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-96383 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/webp\/30int-drc-kabila-1-bqcj-superjumbo.webp\" alt=\" Kabila, who ruled the DRC for almost two decades before stepping down in 2018, was tried in absentia in July for allegedly supporting the rebels who seized significant territory in the country\u2019s east this year. \" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi that the execution of former president Joseph Kabila could trigger a violent coup, according to government insiders. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000096382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-56003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","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":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","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":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000096382,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20240222110443000000logo.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20240222110443000000logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20240222110443000000logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20240222110443000000logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20240222110443000000logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/20240222110443000000logo.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56003","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=56003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000096382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56003"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=56003"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=56003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}