By Florence MoricePosted on 27-01-2019Modified on 27-01-2019 at 13:30

The question arises, the day after his inauguration of the new president. The historic palace for heads of state in Kinshasa is uninhabitable and the outgoing president, Joseph Kabila, does not leave his villa. Pending a more durable solution, Félix Tshisekedi thus lodges in the city of the African Union.

Joseph Kabila returned the keys of the Palace of the Nation, the offices of the presidency but not those of his presidential villa, located in the city center. "This is not the official residence of the Congolese head of state," said one of his advisers. Said official residence - historically - is located on Mount Ngaliema but is no longer habitable. She was looted at the end of the Mobutu era and has since been abandoned.

On his arrival Laurent-Désiré Kabila preferred to settle in another villa, the marble palace. It was there that he was murdered. Consequence: by "superstition" it is said, his son Joseph Kabila refused to settle there and opted for a villa called GLM, named Litho Moboti uncle of President Mobutu. The latter had attributed it to his nephew at the time of zairization. The entourage of the outgoing president ensures that since then, Joseph Kabila has become the owner. "No reason to move," says one of his advisers. As for the historic official residence, it is planned that it will be renovated but it will be long and costly.

Result: After a first night at the Kempinksi Hotel on the evening of his investiture, the new president Felix Tshisekedi has therefore temporarily settled in the city of the African Union in the same compound as this presidential palace. A complex, built in 1967 to house the African heads of state invited to the 4th summit of the organization. "It's modest, but it's transitory," says his spokesman, Vidiye Tshimanga. "The new head of state wants to print his mark," he says. He therefore suggests that a move is planned, while leaving the mystery of the future residence of the new president.

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