After returning from Beijing where Chinese President Xi Jiping refused to loosen the purse to advance President Felix Tshisekedi some funds to the $6 billion deal he was proposing, the Congolese leader faced his Council of Ministers.
Tshisekedi wanted to renegotiate an agreement between China and the Democratic Republic of Congo but his counterpart was not into the renegotiated contract as it didn’t provide favorable trade climate for China.
The Congolese Head of State returned from China without signing any deal and on his return held a stormy council of ministers indaba on June 9, 2023. Some details of the meeting have been disclosed by insiders who have pleaded anonymity.
Raid On Former President Joseph Kabila’s Kingakati
The was a lively exchange of words between Tshisekedi and Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Jean-Pierre Bemba. The remarks were not very pleasant. Tshisekedi scolded Bemba in the presence of the other members of the government. The tension between the two is evident particularly that Bemba’s Chief of Staff was a few weeks ago arrested but released a few days without charge. On this day, the exchanges illustrate the complexity of the relations of the senior members of the Sacred Union and the atmosphere which prevails in this political family. While confidentiality is required during the council of ministers, some of details from the recent meeting are as follows:-
Uplifting!
Félix Tshisekedi: “Mr Deputy Prime Minister, I read that you sent a mission to Kwamouth. How can you arrange to do this without keeping me informed? Your initiative is dangerous. It might incriminate us. Some will accuse us and say that we are involved. Before you did, you should have let me know.”
Jean-Pierre Bemba: “Everyone knows that in this Mobondo affair, it is Joseph Kabila who is behind it. It is he who instrumentalizes communities to create insecurity. We have to go and search Kingakati.”
Felix Tshisekedi: “ No, I forbid you! We can’t search Kingakati. If we do that we won’t be sleeping in this town anymore.”
After the exchange with Bemba, Tshisekedi turned to the Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs to ask for the floor.
Bye Bye SADC?
Christophe Lutundula : “Your Excellency, I would like to inform you and the members of the government that the SADC forces will no longer come.”
Felix Tshisekedi : “ How so?”
Christophe Lutundula : “ Your Excellence, I received a phone call confirming this decision”
Felix Tshisekedi: “How did you not look for me before informing the Council of Ministers?”
Christophe Lutundula: “I received this call from the SADC Secretary General in the car when I came to the Council.”
Felix Tshisekedi: “What do we do now? And why won’t they come anymore?”
Christophe Lutundula: “The SADC Secretary General told me that they could not deploy under the cover of the EAC.”
The Deputy Prime Minister informed the council that the Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ms. Bintou Keita has traveled extensively and has lobbied the authorities of Namibia, Angola and South Africa.
Christophe Lutundula: “If Mrs. Bintou Keita did this, it was her senior management who asked her. Without New York’s approval, she couldn’t do this job.”
Félix Tshisekedi: “We have to pack them up and get rid of Ms. Keita”
Christophe Lutundula: “SG SADC told me that we have a problem with the EAC. They receive no funds. And if there is no money, how will we come? he told me. I told him that I need a note to confirm that the SADC will no longer come. He promised to send it to me next Monday.
Félix Tshisekedi: ” Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, you must organize a meeting for me with Mrs. Keita to tell her that what she has done is not normal.”
Christophe Lutundula: “I will get down to it Your Excellency as soon as possible.”
According to observers, exchanges between the Head of State and his two Deputy Prime Ministers demonstrate the relaxed approach and chaos surrounding the handling of sensitive matters tabled by the Council of Ministers.
At a time when the M23 rebels are waiting for their increasing their operation and another uprising is emerging in western Congo led by the Mobondo militias who carrying out massacres in the suburbs of Kinshasa, the Congolese government is treating the situation with an appalling amateurism approach.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Le Congo Quonaime
