Sunday’s announcement that long-deferred elections will take place in December 2018 in Democratic Republic of Congo is meeting with some hope, confusion and rejection. President Joseph Kabila’s ruling party welcomed the decision in a statement released Monday. The Parti du Peuple pour La Reconstruction et La Democratie (PPRD) acknowledged the…
In a bleak assessment of current conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the influential Roman Catholic bishops have issued a call to Congolese to stand up and, drawing from the language of the nation’s anthem, “build a country more beautiful than today.” “It is imperative to involve ourselves, to…
President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo says he does not foresee holding the country’s stalled 2016 elections anytime soon, and has refused to rule out a third term for himself. Kabila’s remarks were part of an interview with German media outlet Der Spiegel, in which the defiant…
In Kinshasa, a dispute over funeral and burial arrangements for Etienne Tshisekedi, who died February 1 in Brussels, has again delayed the return of his remains to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tshisekedi’s body was to be repatriated on Friday, two months after the initial March 11 date was planned but then…
A new date has been set for the body of Etienne Tshisekedi, who died February 1 in Brussels, to return to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Felix Tshisekedi, son of the late politician and opposition leader, said Thursday that the body is now scheduled to return to Kinshasa on May…
A spokesman for Democratic Republic of Congo has dismissed the importance of a National Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO) bishops’ statement on Friday that said the appointment of Bruno Tshibala as prime minister was a breach of the December 31 political agreement CENCO mediated. Spokesman Lambert Mende told Congolese…
President Joseph Kabila’s plans to appoint a new prime minister for the Democratic Republic of Congo may finally move the nation closer to resolving its political impasse, but not in the eyes of some opposition party members. The decision to name a prime minister – one that Kabila promised to…
Concerned about the apparent failure of the CENCO-mediated political agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States has urged both Congolese government officials and the Rassemblement opposition coalition to redouble their efforts to overcome their disagreements. “The United States is disappointed by lack of progress in implementation of…
A global human rights organization is calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to begin an inquiry into violations in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is an epicenter of the violence and political crisis that also has afflicted North Kivu, Kinshasa and other regions….
The death of longtime opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi on February 1 has left the opposition coalition in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) no choice but to reorganize – a process that in recent days has been contentious enough to cast a shadow on the future of the Rassemblement coalition, at…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Church officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have called for an end to a string of violent attacks against Roman Catholic churches and facilities in the country. The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and MONUSCO, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission for DR Congo, issued a joint statement Friday…
With the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government transition process at a standstill, the African Union (AU) and other international partners said Thursday that all parties to the negotiated December 31 agreement need to return to the ongoing dialogue and begin the formal framework leading to new elections. The AU, along…
In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the National Episcopal Conference (CENCO) has called on all social and political actors to honor the death of longtime political opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi by committing to the December 31 agreement that expressed his final political wishes for the DRC. That agreement arises from…
Hervé Ladsous, head of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, has warned that any progress on the political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) risks a reversal if the deal isn’t signed and implemented by all parties. Speaking to the 15-member United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Ladsous said…
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday that President Joseph Kabila needs to publicly endorse the agreement to end his tenure – a development that the global community is still waiting to see. A successful mediation by Roman Catholic bishops of the nation’s National Episcopal Conference (CENCO),…