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Barred DRC opposition leader to try entry via Zambia
LUBUMBASHI, DR Congo, Aug 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Exiled opposition leader
Moise Katumbi will not attempt to land in DR Congo after being barred from
entering the country, but will instead try to enter via Zambia, his party
said Friday.
Katumbi, 53, who has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since
May 2016, had planned to fly from Johannesburg to his former stronghold of
Lubumbashi in a bid to stand in long-delayed December elections in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
But the city’s mayor said Thursday that he would be refused entry.
Katumbi’s spokesman Olivier Kamitatu said “authorisation to fly over and
land had been refused by Kinshasa”.
“We will take off in the direction of (Zambian city) Ndola to take the
road to Lubumbashi,” Kamitatu tweeted.
At least two police checkpoints were set up to screen access to
Lubumbashi’s airport on Friday morning and the main road to Zambia had been
blocked by a truck, an AFP journalist said.
“As you can see, we are waiting for the president (Katumbi), but those
in power do not want him to be there,” said Katumbi’s brother Abraham
Soriano.
Katumbi’s entourage could not confirm on Friday that he had left
Johannesburg for Zambia.
The former governor of the mineral-rich southern province of Katanga had
once been close to long-serving President Joseph Kabila before the two had a
falling out.
If Katumbi does return he faces possible arrest after being handed a
three-year jail term in absentia in June 2016 in a case of alleged property
fraud, charges he denies.
Another rival of Kabila, former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, returned
to the country and officially launched his bid for the presidency this week.
The DRC has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained
independence in 1960 — and some experts fear that the December 23 elections
may trigger a bloody conflict.
Kabila, 47, has been at the helm since 2001, presiding over a vast
mineral-rich country with a reputation for corruption, inequality and unrest.
He was scheduled to stand down at the end of 2016 after his second
elected term, technically the last permitted under the constitution.
Kabila has refused to spell out whether he will seek a new term in the
vote. Candidates must submit their applications by August 8 and physically be
in the country to do so.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1444 hrs