There is a sense of self satisfaction by President Felix Tshisekedi and his crew that the decision of the Constitutional Court and the Independent Electoral Commission of Congo (CENI) portrays this administration as people who respect the rule of law.
It’s a certainly deceptive way of looking at things. If not for the people of Congo’s vigilance, Tshisekedi and his people would not have wanted Katumbi on the ballot. But because majority of the Congolese were ready to defend one of their own against injustice, Tshisekedi and his people had no choice.
In 2021, they introduced a bill targeted at Mr. Katumbi; they also attempted to force CENI to reject the application and also weighed heavily on the Constitutional Court to invalidate the submission on account of nationality. In all this, the people were watching and ready to take them on.
That’s why its a fallacy for Tshisekedi to attempt to think that its a plus for his administration. Certainly not. The attempt to block Katumbi was a malicious and petty agenda that exposed the hypocrisy of the ruling party, UDPS and its leadership. They served nearly 35 years in opposition but learned nothing.
We agree with Mr. Katumbi’s lawyer, Herve Diakiese, when he says validation of the Ensemble leader’s candidature “is the culmination of a very long struggle in the face of injustice, lies, manipulation and disinformation.”
Indeed, if Tshisekedi was a democrat he has always claimed to be, Ensemble pour la Republique spokesperson Cherubin Okende would be alive today.
This moment does not belong to Tshisekedi and the ruling class. It belongs to Okende who was targetted for pursuing a just cause having resigned from Tshisekedi’s government to rally Katumbi.
This moment belongs to that shirtless little boy in Kinshasa who police brutally dragged, beat up and injured when he joined the opposition to exercise his democratic right to protest rising food costs in the country.
This moment belongs to Salomon Kolanda Della, Katumbi’s special advisor who was kidnapped and is imprisoned for no crime but an attempt to frustrate the candidature of the former Katanga governor.
This moment belongs parliamentarian Mike Mukebayi who is in prison for criticising the shenanigans to block Katumbi as they were driven and anchored tribalism.
This is the moment for Daniel Safu who has been forced into exile for his critical stance against Tshisekedi.
This is the moment for journalist Stanis Bujakera who is imprisoned for doing nothing but being a correspondent of a news organization, Jeune Afrique, that exposed details of the scheme surrounding the death of Okende.
This is a moment for all sons and daughters of the DRC who have endured imprisonment for speaking out, harassment for exercising their rights, torture for choosing to state the facts as they.
If Tshisekedi was a democrat, he would have no problems ensuring that the CENI published the electoral list per requirement of the electoral law.
