A cross-section of Congolese, particularly those in Grand Katanga, say the decision to include the Tshiani Bill for discussion and possible enactment into law by the National Assembly is a recipe for chaos in an already war stricken nation.
The bill driven by American citizen Noelle Tshiani, a kasai believed to be sponsored by President Felix Tshisekedi, aims at introducing a law that restricts the presidency to persons with two indigenous Congolese parents.
Congolese believe the bill which has already been rejected twice by the National Assembly is aimed at blocking popular opposition leader Moise Katumbi from contesting the 2023 presidential election.
Katumbi’s father, Nissim Soriano, is a Jewish-Greek who settled in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the early 1900s and started a family with a native Virginie.
Critics have dubbed the bill the “congolité” law, echoing the term “ivoirité” which was used in the Ivory Coast during a period of increasingly ethnically-driven politics that led to civil wars in 2002 and 2010.
Congo, like Ivory Coast, has a history of conflicts, often tinged by political and ethnic rivalries especially between Katangese and Kasais in the vast country that is rich in raw materials, including a 1998-2003 war during which millions died.
Several people talked to in Katanga says the bill will tear the Congo apart.
“It’s a sad moment for our country. We have to avoid pushing ourselves into a direction that will create problems for us. This is unnecessary because we know that we Katangese have rejected this bill. A war in Katanga and a war in the east of Congo will be a lot of suffering for a lot of people,” Mukend Rund, a peasant farmer, said in his native language.
Kasenga Kilala, a youth activist in Lubumbashi, warned that there is already tension in the country and law markers should not stock the fire.
“We are on the edge. If you look at Lubumbashi, there is serious insecurity. Every morning we are picking dead bodies. This Thsiani bill will make it worse.
President of the Congolese National Assembly Christophe Mboso N’kodia says the Tshiani law is scheduled for discussion in March 2023 after being introduced.
“We know all aspects of this proposed bill. And we need to act accordingly. Members of parliament are not small children. We all know the history of this country. We know where we came from and where we are going. When you walk, you have to look ahead, to know if ahead, there are no obstacles.
“Then you look down, so you don’t trample on anyone. You have to look left or right, to know who is with you. We are not going to burn this country down,” said N’kodia
