Despite the discomfort, the new President returned to the stage to complete his remarks. He said he was exhausted by the long election process and the emotion of the occasion.
Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in Thursday as president of Democratic Republic of Congo, flanked by outgoing head of state Joseph Kabila in a ceremony applauded by thousands of supporters both inside and outside the presidential palace.
“This Thursday is a historic day. It is a day that was dreamt by all the actors who carried our beautiful country. We do not celebrate victory against another, we honor a reconciled Congo. It will not be a Congo of division, hatred or tribalism. We want to build a strong Congo. A Congo turned towards its development, a Congo for all in which everyone deserves his place. ” Tshisekedi said in his address.
The new President notably had a new hug with former President Kabila, where they exchanged a few words before exchanging their chairs, a symbolic image of the outgoing head of state who physically leaves his place to his successor.
Felix the son and heir of the country’s veteran opposition leader and at 55, he secured the prize long denied his late father Etienne, who spent 35 years in opposition but never made it to the top.
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