The Democratic Republic of Congo will begin forcibly removing some 10,000 artisanal miners from the Glencore mines where nearly four dozen people died last week, according to Bloomberg. A military commander said President Felix Tshisekedi has ordered the removal to “put an end to the theft of minerals in the…
Lambert Mende, the information minister for the Democratic Republic of Congo, was quick to condemn France for a “colonialist attitude” after its foreign minister questioned results of the December 30 presidential election that give opposition politician Felix Tshisekedi the win. Mende, a ruling party loyalist and ally of outgoing President…
The Democratic Republic of Congo was still waiting early Thursday morning, as the 11:00 p.m. deadline for announcing results from the contentious December 30 presidential election came and went. It was nearly two hours later when chief Corneille Nangaa and election officials with CENI, the national electoral commission, finally entered the…
Congolese election officials face pressure from within and outside the country to release legitimate polling results, even as the CENI electoral commission warns of delays in publishing provisional results expected on Sunday. The Roman Catholic bishops of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), influential for more than two years…
The electoral commission in Democratic Republic of Congo released on Wednesday its final list of certified presidential candidates, leaving 21 eligible to contest the December 23 elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) approved Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) candidate replacing President Joseph Kabila. They…
In Zambia, a delegation led by the influential leaders of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) met with President Edgar Lungu on Monday to discuss their concerns over the December elections. The delegation asked Lungu, now the chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to ensure that the…
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the influential National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) bishops said Tuesday that they are mobilizing thousands of Congolese volunteers to help monitor the elections set for December. The Roman Catholic organization, which has helped to lead peaceful protests against President Joseph Kabila’s regime and…
President Joseph Kabila will not run for a third term in Democratic Republic of Congo’s elections in December, as his PPRD party announced the selection of Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary on Wednesday. Shadary, a Kabila ally and secretary for the ruling party, was named as Congolese candidates met the registration deadline….
At the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) headquarters in Kinshasa, the anti-Kabila banners came down this weekend. At the same time, a new video – its content and style appearing very much like campaign material – has suddenly appeared in support of President Joseph Kabila in the Democratic Republic of…
At least three people have died and dozens more were reported injured following Sunday’s marches for democratic reforms in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two were confirmed dead in Kinshasa and a third person died in Mbandaka, according to the Comité Laïc de Coordination (CLC), an arm of the Roman…
For the third time in as many months, peaceful protest marches are planned for Sunday in Democratic Republic of Congo – leaving many concerned because of the crackdown by Congolese security forces, sometimes inside churches, that claimed at least 14 lives in Kinshasa during marches in December and January. The…
Six people were killed Sunday in Kinshasa, as security forces shut down protest marches against President Joseph Kabila’s government organized by lay leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Roman Catholic churches. Florence Marchal, a spokeswoman for the United Nations mission there, told MONUSCO-affiliated Radio Okapi that there also were…
In Democratic Republic of Congo, the Roman Catholic community leaders planning a peaceful march on Sunday say they will go ahead with the protest despite a lack of approval from Kinshasa authorities. The Comité Laïc de Coordination (CLC) said Friday that “Christians, believers and men and women of goodwill” from all walks…
One year ago tonight came the news that influential Roman Catholic leaders with National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) had brokered a New Year’s Eve deal – one that would promise the presidential elections that President Joseph Kabila has resisted in Democratic Republic of Congo, and ensure a cooperative process with…
The Roman Catholic bishops who helped negotiate last year’s December 31 agreement on new elections in Democratic Republic of Congo have called on President Joseph Kabila to make clear he will not seek a third term. The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) bishops released their statement during a press…