Opposition Ensemble Pour la Republique party President Moïse Katumbi has castigated the Congolese government’s move to open legal proceedings against respected Catholic Priest and Archbishop of Kinshasa Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo for alleged spread of rumours and inciting the public.
On Monday, the Attorney General at the Court of Cassation Firmin Mvonde ordered the opening of legal proceedings against Cardinal Ambongo for “spreading false rumours, incitement to revolt and attacks against human lives”.
Cardinal Ambongo has continuously criticized Fèlix Tshisekedi and his regime’s irresponsible and indiscriminate style of governance.
Katumbi has since joined a host of other key political personalities in condemning the move by the Tshisekedi government to silence Cardinal Ambongo with the threat of legal action.
Katumbi writes;
We learn with deep indignation that Cardinal Ambongo would be the subject of a judicial injunction following his homilies denouncing the serious evils gnawing at the #DRC. This Cardinal and Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa only carries the voice of the Congolese who endure endless atrocious suffering. Congolese justice therefore attempts to muzzle this voice of the afflicted, the poor, the victims of injustice, wars and mismanagement of public affairs. This policy of intimidation of the Church, whose role is precisely to carry the voice of the oppressed, is totally unacceptable. This intolerable attack on the Catholic Church recalls the dark hours of the tragic history of our Country, marked by authoritarian regimes which unscrupulously attacked Cardinals Joseph Malula and Laurent Monsengwo, fierce defenders of truth, of justice and good governance. Today, Cardinal Ambongo is faced with this same repression, perpetrated by a power that fears truth and transparency. But, at all times, we observe that regimes which attack the Church and its dignitaries fail miserably. It is therefore better to refrain from it. Despite the fight led by Etienne Tshisekedi and the entire opposition, who would have thought that a regime that calls itself democratic would choose the path of repression to stifle all legitimate criticism? The fragility and weakness of a regime, plunged into an alarming dictatorial drift, are now exposed in broad daylight. All Congolese have the right to respect for their fundamental rights and the Church, concerned about collective well-being, can only ensure this, in particular by denouncing everything that destroys the Republic and plunges the Congolese into unbearable misery. If respect for fundamental rights has a price, let it be communicated to us so that it can be paid in order to recover the freedom and collective well-being sought by the Cardinal and Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa. Whatever the intimidation and repression, the truth will not be suppressed. May God open the hearts of all to the Cardinal’s homilies and sermons! May God protect our country!
