Headlines: Vital Kamerhe before the judges

Audio 04:21

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

Publicity

“  This Monday, May 11, 2020 is a special meeting in the DRC , exclaims the Congolese news site Politico . In Kinshasa, at Makala central prison, Vital Kamerhe, a powerful chief of staff to President Félix Tshisekedi, will face the judges of the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Kinshasa / Gombe. The ally of the Head of State is prosecuted , recalls the site, for corruption and embezzlement of public funds. A first for this Central African country, 60 years after its independence. Beside him are two other defendants, including the Lebanese businessman Jammal Samih, the riddle of the case. This trial is the culmination of a combination of facts, between political alliances and upheavals at the head of the DRC “, Politico points out that in a long series of investigations, the sons of this affair of twists and turns since its origin, namely, the advent to power of President Tshisekedi in January 2019.

A breathtaking match ...

"  This is a game like the Congolese had not experienced for a long time , adds the news site Cas-Info. This unprecedented trial keeps the whole country in suspense and promises to remain in the annals of Congolese history. (…) The whole challenge for Vital Kamerhe will be to avoid becoming the symbol of the rule of law which Félix Tshisekedi, his main ally, has been calling for with all his heart since he took office. The challenge is huge for VK , exclaims Cas-Info. So many files have accumulated on one person: the 57 million affair, the bling-bling marriage, the distribution of luxury gifts to loved ones. Without forgetting the escape of a nephew wanted by the criminal police for participation in this same embezzlement.  "

The debates, from this morning, will be filmed, specifies the site, at the request of the UNC, the party of Vital Kamerhe. “  The Congolese are waiting for only one thing, concludes Cas-Info: to know the truth about what has been done with their money. And sanctions for the culprits.  "

Big unpacking ?

“  Ironically , says Afrikarabia , the audience should be broadcast by Canal Futur, a channel close to Kamerhe himself. By putting media pressure and taking the Congolese to witness live on television, Vital Kamerhe could well return his trial in his favor and splash some caciques in passing.  "

Indeed, points Afrikarabia, “  the trial of the director of cabinet could be the occasion of a great unpacking which would splash the entourage of Félix Tshisekedi, but also some close to Joseph Kabila. (…) At the heart of the Kamerhe trial, the political aspect will play a key role , estimates the specialized site on the DRC. Because this great unpacking before a justice, which until then had closed its eyes to the embezzlement of money, could only be done in a very specific political context : that of unnatural alliances. The climate of mistrust-distrust between the UDPS of Félix Tshisekedi and the UNC of Vital Kamerhe, then between the CACH alliance of Tshisekedi and the FCC of Kabila, created a deleterious climate conducive to low blows and denunciations. Pandora's box has been opened, concludes Afrikarabia, and nobody really knows how to close it ... without taking a beating.  "

Liar Poker

So, Le Pays au Burkina prediction , we will undoubtedly be witnessing, in the coming weeks, “  a game of lying poker, of which the Congolese are the world champions, with a reorganization of alliances against a background of positioning warfare with the elections of 2023 in the crosshairs. One thing is certain, unless an extraordinary reversal of the situation, this part will be played without the intriguing and very controversial Vital Kamerhe, who will certainly pay cash his real or presumably gargantuan greed. It is (…) perhaps a new era which opens in this country where the clientelism and the freebies were almost legalized. Hats off to the Congolese president , exclaims Le Pays, which has managed to put itself above the fray to deliver an alter ego to justice, as if to prove to its compatriots that "nothing will be as before" in the DRC. Blow of pub or blow of bluff , concludes the Burkinabe daily, one will appreciate this operation of release without parachute of its director of cabinet according to the follow-up which it will give to the many files of embezzlement which concern high former or present high authorities.  "

Newsletter With the Daily Newsletter, find the headlines directly in your mailbox

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

• Newspaper
• Ground floor
• Corruption