Thousands took to the streets of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, on Monday to oppose an election delay which they call an effort by President Joseph Kabila to stay in power beyond the end of his mandate in late December.
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Kabila is under growing local and global pressure to step down when his term of office legally ends in December. Supporters of the president deny this.
But, denouncing a movement bent on insurrection, the Congolese Interior Minister gave a provisional death toll of 17, including three policemen, one of whom he said was burned alive.
“I have seen offices of President Kabila’s party as well as offices of other political parties allied to the president’s coalition burnt down”, said Patrice Chitera, DW’s correspondent in Kinshasa.
The clashes Monday were the worst violence in the capital since January 2015 when a police crackdown on another opposition protest left several dozen people dead. Another opposition leader, Martin Fayulu was detained during the protests, according to Reuters.
Felix Tshisekedi, the son of UDPS leader Etienne Tshisekedi who lost against Kabila in a 2011 presidential run-off and who has called for further protests, said: “We won’t live with this barbarity”.
Congo’s government spokesman, Lambert Mende, condemned the burning of opposition party buildings as well as attacks on other buildings, including two ruling party buildings and a school, by opposition protesters. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is due to hold elections in November, but the government has said these will be delayed while the voter registry is updated.
The State Department on Friday issued a statement urging the peaceful transition and mentioned that it would be considering additional sanctions on “any individuals responsible for perpetrating violence or repression, or for inciting imminent violence”. Donors fear that growing political instability could mushroom into armed conflict in a country plagued by militias, especially in its lawless eastern regions.
The government says it had withdrawn authorization for the demonstration after violence from protesters.
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Dozens of people died in similar protests against Kabila past year. “How many months we can not know at this time”, he said. Tshisekedi went on to say that the DRC is a dictatorship and he says this government deserves the popular revolt that is coming to topple it.
