Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Congo’s veteran opposition chief Etienne Tshisekedi on Sunday called for elections to be held this year and for President Joseph Kabila to step down as scheduled on December 20. Tensions have been growing in the mineral-rich but troubled state over fears that Kabila, in …
Read More »Congo opposition chief comes home as crisis looms
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Congo’s veteran opposition chief Etienne Tshisekedi returned home after a two-year absence to a warm welcome from large crowds Wednesday as the mineral-rich African nation heads into fresh turbulence. Thousands of supporters sporting Tshisekedi T-shirts and waving party flags who had gathered at the …
Read More »Koffi Olomide arrested again
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Star Congolese rumba singer Koffi Olomide, who was expelled from Kenya at the weekend after allegedly kicking one of his dancers, was charged with assault and battery Tuesday, a judicial source told AFP. The source, who asked not to be identified, said the 60-year-old …
Read More »DR Congo vows to jail opposition leader if he returns
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s justice minister on Monday vowed to jail opposition leader Moise Katumbi if he returned home after leaving the country for medical treatment. Katumbi was seen as the leading challenger to President Joseph Kabila in elections due to be held this year, but left the country …
Read More »Zambia show cancelled, Koffi Olomide apologizes
Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambian authorities said on Sunday they had called off a planned show by Congolese singer Koffi Olomide following his deportation from Kenya for kicking one of his female dancers. Olomide was scheduled to perform at the annual agricultural trade show in Lusaka this week. “Following …
Read More »Catholic bishops in DRC call for elections
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | An influential grouping of Catholic bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo called for elections to be held on schedule this year and for President Joseph Kabila to step down when his second term ends. Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, is …
Read More »Bemba: from wealthy DR Congo VP to war criminal
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Jean-Pierre Bemba, the ex Congolese vice-president handed an 18-year-jail term Tuesday for “cruel” rapes and murders in neighbouring Central African Republic, was once a towering figure in business and politics. Bemba, a once feared warlord now aged 55, was sentenced after being found guilty …
Read More »DRC’s Bemba to appeal conviction, call for mistrial
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | On the eve of his landmark sentencing, lawyers for former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba Monday gave notice that they will appeal his war crimes conviction and press for a mistrial. Just hours before the once feared militia leader was due back in the …
Read More »M23 rebels in DR Congo want new demob scheme
Lubumbashi, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s disbanded M23 rebel movement has called on the government to agree a new demobilisation scheme following deadly clashes near a camp housing former rebels dissatisfied with their conditions. M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement that the deaths of several people …
Read More »LRA rebels kidnap dozens of civilians in DR Congo: UN
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Nearly 100 people have been kidnapped in northeast DR Congo during an attack blamed on Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, the United Nations said Wednesday. Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Amouzou Codjo, spokesman for the UN’s MONUSCO peace mission in DR Congo, said the suspected LRA members …
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