Popular opposition leader Moise Katumbi has accused President Felix Tshisekedi of sliding into an authoritarian bubble after realizing that he is losing power in the upcoming December 20, 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections.
In an interview with Jeune Afrique, Katumbi – leader of the Ensemble pour la République (Together for Change) – says the rising force deployed by Tshisekedi to respond to opposition protests and arbitrary arrests of key leaders is testament the Head of State had come to terms with the reality that the population was not with him.
Katumbi was with his special advisor Salomon Kalonda Della when he was kidnapped by intelligence officers at N’djili International Airport on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 before being detained at DEMIAP, a military prison in Kinshasa.
Katumbi says no explanation has been given for Kalonda’s arbitrary arrest.
“Now we hear he is accused of having a military driver and carrying an unlicensed firearm, but this is all false.
“By the way, he was not arrested as you say, but taken by force by elements of the presidential guard. They seized him without
presenting any documents. This is proof that a dictatorship is setting up in the DRC.
“Elections are approaching, Felix Tshisekedi knows that he has no balance to defend power so he gets angry and pours into authoritarianism. This is unacceptable and we will not stand by it. This narrowing of the democratic space, the repression that hits the opposition is because they are afraid,” Katumbi said.
Katumbi says he was not exaggerating by painting a gloomy picture of Congo.
“It’s total chaos. Violence is getting worse in our country because we have a sorry governance system. Corruption and impunity is rampant, the population is suffering, insecurity reigns…
“This leadership has shown its limits and a regime change is needed. This is why we insist on real elections to bring about change,” he said.
Katumbi says the ongoing electoral process in which CENI had registered about 43.9 million voters and hired a company to audit the register was contentious.
“I do not consider this file to have been audited. They called in a group of friends with no experience in the field. You don’t improvise yourself as an expert when you’ve never done similar work before, especially in a great country like the DRC,” he said.
Katumbi says the opposition is determined to go to the polls even as it raises issues with the process.
