DRC Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba said on Friday that Katumbi had “asked for conditional release covered by a medical certificate saying he needed appropriate care overseas”.
Advertisement
Katumbi said the case, which followed the arrest of four of his bodyguards, including an American, was politically motivated.
“Katumbi Chapwe Moise. has been charged with threatening the internal and external security of the State. and faces a provisional arrest warrant”, the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Powerful DR Congo opposition figure Moise Katumbi was charged with hiring foreign mercenaries and undermining national security, officials said Thursday, amid mounting tensions over whether presidential elections will be held this year.
His supporters repeatedly clashed with police during three days of hearings last week and his indictment and possible arrest raise the prospect of further violence.
Katumbi arrived at the airport by ambulance which drove straight up to a waiting plane.
Dozens of Kabila’s critics have been arrested since past year as part of what the United Nations and rights groups say is an escalating crackdown on political dissent ahead of a presidential election scheduled for November.
No date was set for the trial of Katumbi, millionaire owner of a prestigious football club and former governor of mineral-rich Katanga province.
In September past year he broke ties with the ruling party when he accused President Kabila, his former ally, of wanting to cling to power.
It remains unclear what power authorities in Congo would have to compel Katumbi to return, though any prolonged absence could complicate his bid for the presidency.
President Kabila has ruled since 2001 and is barred from standing for a third term but the government says it is unlikely to be able to organise November’s polls in time, blaming budgetary and logistical constraints.
Katumbi has announced his intent to run in November elections against longtime incumbent President Joseph Kabila.
Advertisement
The director of the United Nations human rights office in Congo, Jose Maria Aranaz, denounced the court’s decision as proof of “the instrumentalization of the judiciary and the continued criminalization of civil society”.
