Felix Tshisekedi was sworn into office in Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, during a ceremony interrupted for 12 minutes as the new president was briefly upset in the moment. “Ça ne va pas,” he said, without any further explanation of what was “not right.” The broadcast of the inauguration…
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….
Congolese sources say there’s a new deal to complete the burial arrangements for longtime political opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in February 2017 in Brussels but 14 months later still has never had his remains repatriated to Democratic Republic of Congo. The Tshisekedi family, along with the Union for Democracy…
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…
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…
Congolese opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi says he was prevented Tuesday afternoon from leaving a hotel in Lubumbashi, where he has stayed since the weekend arrest of activists meeting at the headquarters of his Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party. “I am prevented from leaving the hotel to go and…
President Joseph Kabila, whose term as president of Democratic Republic of Congo expired last December, shows no signs of moving toward the delayed presidential elections he has refused to hold. He has shrugged off any commitment to a December 31 power-sharing deal with the country’s Rassemblement political opposition coalition, one…
Congolese sources say that the long dispute over repatriation and burial arrangements for Etienne Tshisekedi, who died February 1 in Brussels, may soon come to an end. A spokesman for the Tshisekedi family confirmed Friday to AFP that the family, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party and 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…
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…
The Democratic Republic of Congo has announced that opposition political leader Bruno Tshibala will serve as new prime minister. President Joseph Kabila appointed Tshibala on Friday, following his public promise two days earlier to choose a prime minister within 48 hours. Tshibala replaces Samy Badibanga, who resigned on Thursday. Tshibala…
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…